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NEW YORK CITY—Some multifamily borrowers havebeen hesitant about arranging mortgages through FannieMae or Freddie Mac, but GraceHuebscher believes that such hesitancy is misplaced. “Ifyou haven't tried agency, this is the time to do it,” Huebschertold the audience at a recent panel discussion sponsored byCapital One Multifamily Finance, where she'spresident of agency multifamily finance. “They're incrediblyaggressive on price right now, and one of the things I've beenreally impressed with over the past six to nine months has been thestructuring flexibility. We did a $270-million deal here in NewYork City, a highly structured deal, and a broker whose name you'dall know was shocked that we got this done with the agencies.”

Huebscher moderated a recent panel discussion at the UnionLeague here that brought together representatives from the two GSEsand some of their largest clients. Along with HilaryProvinse, VP of multifamily at Fannie Mae, andRichard Katzenstein, managing regional director atFreddie Mac Multifamily, attendees also heard from LisaPendergast, managing director and co-head of CMBS strategyand risk at Jefferies & Co.; Paul Nasser, CFOand COO with Intercontinental Real Estate Corp.;and Michael Bar, VP of finance at TFCornerstone.