Report: GSEs Miss Mark for Low-Income Home Purchase Goals

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were shy of meeting their low-income and very low-income home purchase goals, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency's (FHFA) ""annual housing report"":http://www.fhfa.gov/webfiles/24622/1112_2012AnnualHousingReport.pdf released last week.

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Currently, the GSEs, the Federal Housing Administration and the Department of Veterans Affairs â€" all government agencies â€" serve as the principal sources of liquidity in the mortgage market.

While the GSEs remain in a conservatorship, ""FHFA expects them to continue to fulfill the purposes for which they were established, including support for affordable housing as measured by the housing goals.""

For the year 2010 to 2011, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac exceeded their refinance and multifamily goals but did not meet their low-income and very low-income home purchase goals.

FHFA set a benchmark of 21 percent for low-income refinances. Fannie Mae recorded 23.1 percent, and Freddie Mac recorded 23.4 percent.

The low-income home purchase benchmark for the year was 27 percent. Fannie Mae posted 25.8 percent, while Freddie Mac posted 23.3 percent.

FHFA's benchmark for very-low income home purchases was much smaller â€" 8 percent, but both GSEs fell short of this goal as well. Fannie Mae was closer at 7.6 percent, and Freddie Mac was further behind at 6.6 percent.