Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac Release Updated Duty to Serve Plans

Government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will increase their focus on rural community development, including expanding construction and secondary market access, in the latest Duty to Serve plans addressing housing equity.

In updated plans released this week by their regulator, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac detailed the upcoming actions they would take to address the entire national housing marketin addition to the designated communities identified by the U.S. government as having the greatest need.

“It is critical that innovative ideas for addressing liquidity needs in underserved markets are implemented and scaled up in rural communities and other areas facing access and affordability challenges,” said Sandra Thompson, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency in a press release.

As part of the strategy, Freddie Mac will host six Develop the Developer academies in rural areas to help community stakeholders increase supply. Meanwhile, Fannie Mae expects to devise plans to open the door to rural community development financial institutions. or CDFIs, gain access to a larger part of the secondary market.

“These new plans underscore FHFA and the companies’ commitment to ensuring the housing finance system responsibly supports borrowers and renters across the country,” Thompson said.

As required by federal regulations enacted in 2008, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac regularly publish targets in so-called Duty to serve underserved market plansoutlining ways to increase liquidity and access to housing for low- and moderate-income residents in communities across the country.

In addition to rural housing development, GSE’s 2025-2027 plans include increased liquidity for manufactured housing and the preservation of existing affordable units. Both companies released updates to existing programs for residents of manufactured housing communities in this week’s announcement, placing limits on rent increases.

The latest updates to Duty to Serve will provide financing options that will benefit nearly 690,000 renter households and more than 90,000 homeowners, FHFA said.

The announcement of the Duty to Serve follows the release of similar three-year Equitable Housing Plans by FHFA earlier this year. In these updates, the companies emphasized their support for initiatives that enable first-generation homeownership. Among the programs introduced by the GSEs are aimed at first-time buyers extensive use of rent payment history and cash flow analysis in terms of underwriting, as well as promoting down payment assistance.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will also increase education in finance and homeownership with translations of materials into new languages ​​and the addition of topics related to home maintenance and natural disaster risk.

The developments come in a year when U.S. housing agencies have stepped up efforts to support housing in rural and other underserved markets. One of the segments receiving more attention is the industrial home industry. Earlier this year, FHFA introduced a newly constructed home price index that will be released quarterly. At the same time, leaders at the U.S. Housing and Urban Development organization have rolled out new programs at various times throughout 2024 designed to fueling the growth of manufactured housing.