Freddie Mac Follows Fannie Mae to Rental Market, With Affordability as Goal
The agency’s view of the single-family rental market has changed since 2012, when it balked at a Freddie Mac plan to provide financing to some buyers of foreclosed homes because of concerns
that low-cost loans would hurt banks and might also encourage home-flipping.
In all, Freddie Mac could provide up to $1 billion in financing or loan guarantees to smaller firms
that buy single-family homes and operate them as what it considers affordable-housing rentals, a company official said in an interview.
But the strategy also stems from a growing consensus among housing policy makers and landlords
that both Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae should play roles in providing financing to single-family home operators.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency, which regulates Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, has approved the financing effort on a trial basis.
The approach being taken by Freddie Mac is in part a response to criticism of Fannie Mae’s deal to provide a guarantee to investors in the 10-year, $1 billion loan
that Wells Fargo provided to Invitation Homes and will securitize.
Freddie Mac wants to provide tens of millions of dollars in financing to midsize landlords, not
to giants like Invitation Homes, which operates nearly 50,000 rental homes in 13 markets.
