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The only profits Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac generated since entering conservatorship in 2008 came from financing multifamily mortgages, according to the inspector general of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, in a recently released report.
The GSEs earned a $7 billion gain from their multifamily division between 2008 and the first quarter of 2012.
The inspector general’s report confirms what has long been known by industry insiders – and seldom understood by media – that a segment of the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s workforce and multi-family network of lenders across the country, have not only made possible affordable multifamily housing across the country, but without doing so at a profit. It is only the single market segment of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that has caused the headlines of agency debt.
Multifamily has been a major driver for the entire housing industry. According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, multifamily mortgage originations jumped 45% in the first quarter from one year prior.