Articles About Freddie Mac

CMBS activity came back strongly during February with more than $6.5 billion in new securitization reported. Additionally, Freddie Mac brought two multifamily-backed offerings totaling $1.86 billion to market.  February’s level of activity is almost two-thirds of all CMBS deals offered in 2010.  The level resembles 2007, when commercial mortgage-backed securities offerings were at their peak. […]

The Obama administration and the Treasury Department have decided that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — the public-private housing finance model in place for the past four decades – will come to an end, although they pledged to continue backing the agencies’ existing obligations. “The GSE (government-sponsored enterprise) model is dead,” an Obama administration official […]

President Barack Obama is proposing an option to create an insurance fund for mortgage-backed securities, similar to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation that protects Americans savings accounts. The proposal consists of three legislative options for making long-term changes to the housing finance system, while taking short-term moves to gradually reduce the government’s role in the […]

The Obama administration is leaning on mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to write down underwater loans and make life easier for homeowners who are at risk of default and may see their personal finances deteriorate.  The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) wants Fannie and Freddie to join a Federal Housing Authority (FHA) program […]

A financing vehicle that has been used in Europe since it was invented in Prussia in 1769 is finding its way to American shores as a replacement for commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS).  The vehicle is known as covered bonds, which is a securitized debt instrument backed by a pool of top-quality assets, primarily mortgages. What […]

The Department of Justice has opened an investigation to determine whether banks and other financial institutions broke federal law by using deceptive court documents to foreclose on homes.  Although the investigation is just underway, it will probe whether companies deceived federal housing agencies like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which currently insure a large percentage […]

The ultimate cost of bailing out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could cost as much as $154 billion unless the economy improves, according to a government report.  The mortgage giants rescue – which has kept the housing market on life supports – already has cost $135 billion to cover losses on home loans in default.  […]

Mortgage rates have hit a record low.  According to Freddie Mac, rates for 30-year mortgages fell to 4.27 percent from 4.32 percent in just one week.  At the same time, safe-haven government debt is more appealing to investors than ever, according to a Freddie Mac survey. The low rates may be a sign that housing […]

Who’s right about the state of the economy and commercial real estate – the bulls or the bears?  Robert Knakal, chairman of New York-based Massey Knakal Realty Services, weighs both sides to help us cut through the mixed messages. In a recent interview for the Alter NOW Podcasts, Knakal noted that the bulls like to […]

The Obama administration – fresh from its financial regulation reform legislative victory – is not resting on its laurels.  Next on the busy agenda is reforming the American housing market, which is viewed by many as the root of the financial crisis. In a response to collapsing housing prices and waves of foreclosures, the administration […]