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Strong Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac Top Priority for NAHB
With investor confidence in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac continuing to erode, NAHB leaders this week said that one of the highest priorities of the association is ensuring support for the two government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) as a source of mortgage capital for the nation’s home buyers.
Combined, the two institutions account for about 70% of the mortgage finance market in the U.S., and they provide the foundation for the nation’s secondary mortgage market.
In an Aug. 25 message to the NAHB Board of Directors, Sandy Dunn, the association’s president, and Joe Robson, NAHB’s first vice president, said that a special member task force has been appointed to study the ramifications of the interim and longer-term impact of the challenges facing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
As the situation has unfolded, there has been increased media coverage on the solvency of Fannie and Freddie, the volatility of their stock prices and the possibility of intervention by the U.S. Treasury.
“We want to assure the board that NAHB is staying on top of this very fluid situation,” Dunn and Robson said. The association has remained in daily communication with the enterprises, they said, and has requested a meeting with their leadership.
NAHB also is continuing to meet with key congressional staff members and Administration officials on this issue, including the new regulator for the GSEs, Jim Lockhart, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency.
“While at this time, NAHB has a limited ability to influence events as they are unfolding, we continue to monitor the markets for any aberrations in pricing of their debt, and media for any additional information that would put us in the best position to help our industry and you, our members,” the two Senior Officers said.
Task force findings will be presented to the NAHB Executive Board and the full NAHB Board of Directors this winter.
NAHB board members received assurances from Dunn and Robson that the association is continuing to monitor the situation with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as it develops.
For more information, e-mail Rob Pflieger, NAHB’s senior staff vice president for public affairs, or call him at 800-368-5242 x8403.
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