GSEs Increase Multifamily Lending While Juggling FHFA Caps
August 28, 2015
The GSEs’ multifamily segment continues to witness growth amid the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s mandated caps. Freddie Mac’s comprehensive income from the multifamily business grew to $366 million for the second quarter. Freddie said the $102 million increase was primarily due to higher unrealized gains on available-for-sale securities. Also, new purchase volume remained strong at $13.1 billion, a $3.1 billion increase from the first quarter. In fact, Freddie’s multifamily business grew so much that some industry observers worry that the GSE could reach the $30 billion annual multifamily business cap set by the FHFA before the year ends. Approximately 70 percent of the $23.1 billion in new business activity in the first half counted toward the 2015 volume cap.