The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) recently announced it will allow greater rental housing support from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac by raising the multifamily loan purchase cap for each Enterprise to $73 billion, representing $146 billion in total 2025 multifamily market support and a more than 4 percent increase from 2024, FHFA said in a press release.

FHFA establishes the caps every year, and they are later included in the Enterprises’ Conservatorship Scorecard, a set of annual priorities that they are expected to meet. Just like in 2024, when the cap for each Enterprise was $70 billion, multifamily loans that finance workforce housing will be excluded from the 2025 limits.

“The 2025 multifamily loan caps reflect the Enterprises’ strong commitment to provide liquidity to make renting a home more affordable,” FHFA Director Sandra Thompson said in the release. “Additionally, the ongoing workforce housing exemption will continue to enhance the Enterprises’ ability to support properties that preserve affordable rents, including properties preserved or created through corporate-sponsored affordable housing initiatives.”

Over the past year, since workforce housing was first exempted from the caps, both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have seen encouraging growth in this market segment. In addition, FHFA is continuing to require that at least 50 percent of Fannie and Freddie’s multifamily businesses be mission-driven.

FHFA will continue to monitor the multifamily mortgage market and maintain the ability to raise the caps further if necessary to support liquidity in the market. However, to prevent market disruption, if FHFA determines that the actual size of the 2025 market is smaller than was initially projected, FHFA will not lower the caps, according to the release.