The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced on Monday increased multifamily purchase caps for its regulated entities Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
The updated purchase cap for each entity’s multifamily mortgage purchases in 2026 is $88 billion, for a combined $176 billion in multifamily purchases.
The FHFA set a $73 billion multifamily purchase cap volume for each entity in 2025, slightly higher than the $70 billion volume cap set for each in 2024.
At least half of each company’s multifamily purchases must support “mission-driven, affordable housing,” the same level as in 2024 and 2025.
Fannie and Freddie funnel liquidity to U.S. housing finance markets by acquiring and securitizing residential and commercial mortgages for purchase by investors. Doing so enables mortgage lenders to extend financing to a wider pool of borrowers and projects than might qualify in strictly private markets.
In a statement shared with Scotsman Guide, Bob Broeksmit, CEO of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), said the announced cap increases “align with MBA’s expectations” for the multifamily market in 2026.
“Stable market conditions, strong maturity volumes, and a gradual decline in interest rates are expected to lift multifamily lending activity next year,” said Broeksmit, highlighting the association’s desires to expand rental housing supply while reducing costs for renters.
Softening rent prices in 2025 have signaled an easing in housing inflation is underway, though “the cumulative impact of past rent hikes continues to put immense pressure on household budgets,” said real estate analytics firm Cotality in a recent report.
The purchase volume caps set for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac represent maximum limits as opposed to target thresholds for purchases, given the government-sponsored enterprises’ mission to not crowd out private capital.
In a move generally supported by industry groups and harshly criticized by consumer advocates, the FHFA in early October published proposed housing goals for Fannie and Freddie for fiscal years 2026 to 2028 that suggest dramatically lowering benchmark targets for the enterprises’ affordable mortgage purchases.
The lowered benchmarks were concentrated in Fannie and Freddie’s single-family purchases, however, leaving multifamily affordable-mortgage purchase targets unchanged.
