By Beth Mattson-Teig | National Real Estate Investor
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are trying to reign in robust multifamily lending that has them racing toward their annual production caps very early in the year.
Fannie and Freddie have introduced rate hikes over the past few weeks and tightened underwriting as a means to slow lending activity. The rate increases have amounted to about a 50 basis point total increase in their rates.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have annual production caps for market rate multifamily lending set at $30.0 billion each for 2015. Both agencies are currently on pace to hit those caps by the third quarter, if not sooner. Freddie Mac reported that its multifamily lending volume reached $10.0 billion in the first quarter, while Fannie Mae issued $10.4 billion in multifamily MBS (mortgage-backed securities) during the same period.
