Mar 23

Affordable Housing Efforts

Affordable Housing Efforts

Affordable Housing Efforts

Affordable Housing Efforts

Under an umbrella of higher home prices, mortgage financing giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have recently taken several efforts to try to open up housing options for low- and middle-income buyers. The government-sponsored enterprises have added support for three lower-cost housing options: rural homes, manufactured housing, and the existing stock of affordable homes.

More than 23 percent of Americans live in rural areas. The median incomes in rural areas tend to fall below national levels. Under a Duty to Serve program, Fannie and Freddie will be purchasing more loans in certain low-income areas. Fannie plans to purchase up to 5,000 additional rural single-family loans, and Freddie Mac expects to buy about 3,360 loans by the third year of the program.

“It’s unclear the impact it will have just yet. It’s new to the market, still unproven,” Gerron Levi, director of policy and government affairs at the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, told realtor.com®. “[But] when Fannie and Freddie enter the market and tell lenders, ‘If you make the loan we will purchase it,’ it will facilitate access to credit to those markets. [Private] lenders will be more willing to make loans.”

The GSEs have also made recent moves on the manufactured housing front. More than 17 million Americans live in manufactured homes, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. Manufactured homes cost a median of $73,800, which is about a quarter of the $269,500 median cost of new homes nationwide.

Freddie Mac has called manufactured homes “a critical source of affordable housing.” Fannie Mae plans to purchase an additional 4,540 to 5,540 manufactured-housing loans over three years, which could fuel an extra $500 million or more into the market. Freddie Mac intends to purchase an additional 1,000 more loans, which is 25 percent higher than it currently does. The GSEs announced they also will test out buying loans on homes held as personal property within manufactured housing to see if that makes it easier for low- and moderate-income buyers to get into these homes.

Fannie and Freddie also plan to resume investing in low-income housing tax credits. The credits are tax incentives to spur developers to build more affordable housing. The program was temporarily stopped during the recession.

The National Housing Law Project estimates that the credits provide funding for about 100,000 new affordable housing units each year. They also can create greater support for developers creating Section 8 housing.

Source: “Can Fannie and Freddie Provide a Jolt to Buyers Desperate for Affordable Housing?” realtor.com® (March 22, 2018)

admin

For all of your Real Estate needs, place yourself in the competent hands of a career Realtor who is a Philadelphia native and Delaware County resident. Skilled, smart and enthusiastic about his work and his life, Anthony DiDonato has the appealing combination of business sense and people skills gives him an edge in an industry that demands both.

Educated at Drexel University with a dual major in accounting and finance and minors in management and psychology Anthony DiDonato offers over 25 years of experience in the real estate industry. He has been a real estate investor since 1985 and a member of H.A.P.C.O. (Landlord Association). He became a licensed Realtor in 1992 and a member of the Local, Pennsylvania and National Associations of Realtors. Anthony DiDonato is also a member of the Computerized Multiple Listings, (MLS) and Internet Marketing Programs. In 1997 Anthony DiDonato became Century 21 All-Elite, Inc. Corporate Secretary.

Anthony DiDonato believes in taking his profession to the highest level of quality service. He is known for finding that “perfect” property in Philadelphia, Delaware County, Chester County, Montgomery County and surrounding areas in Pennsylvania for his buyers and helping his sellers prepare their properties so they sell quickly and efficiently.

When it comes time to negotiate the terms of a contract, Anthony DiDonato has the knowledge, experience, and professionalism applied to meeting – or exceeding – his clients’ expectations. His service to his clients is second to none. His honesty and integrity have been his claim to fame.

For Superior Real Estate Representation in the Delaware Valley, Philadelphia, Delaware County, Chester County, Montgomery County and surrounding areas in Pennsylvania… call Anthony DiDonato.