Fannie & Freddie launch new programs to encourage investment in rental properties

Investors are being encouraged to buy up more single-family rental properties thanks to the introduction of new financing programs with competitive rates from U.S. mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The programs are designed to encourage property investors into looking at single-family rentals, which are increasingly in demand from those who’re unable or unwilling to buy.

That demand is sparking interest among investors already, said one analyst.

“Folks who dipped their toes in the market in 2015 or early 2016 and bought one or two single-family rentals are now buying more,” Daren Blomquist, senior vice president of property data firm ATTOM Data Solutions, told National Real Estate Investor.

With the new programs, the hope is that those investors will continue to buy more single-family rental properties and bring them to the market.

Fannie and Freddie’s new lending programs are designed to help investors with smaller portfolios obtain more competitive financing at fixed interest rates with loan terms of up to ten years. The idea is that it will help encourage them to expand their portfolios. Previously, such investors were forced to gamble somewhat with shorter loan terms and higher rates, something that puts off more cautious investors.

“It should help lower mortgage rates for single-family rental operators, helping them to increase their rate of return on current rentals without having to raise the rent, and also opening up more potential rental acquisition opportunities that may not have penciled out previously with higher mortgage rates,” Blomquist said of the new progams. “Fannie and now Freddie’s backing of the single-family rental market is a game changer.”