NEWS HEADLINES
Inside the Numbers: The GSEs' Single-Family vs. Multifamily Operations
By Jerry Ascierto
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac recently reported their third-quarter results, and it wasn’t pretty.
Fannie lost $5.1 billion in the three-month period, while Freddie saw a $4.4 billion loss, resulting in the companies asking for a combined additional $13.8 billion in government aid. Sadly, the resulting uproar around the losses, coupled with the sizable compensation paid to the companies' top execs, is nothing new.
What isn't being talked about in the debate, however, is the phenomenal performance of the multifamily business lines of the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs). Not only are the multifamily divisions profitable and making money for the taxpayers that bailed them out, but the delinquency rates and amount of REO are miniscule in comparison to the GSEs' single-family business.
What's more, the multifamily divisions are also mission-rich: While the multifamily book is only a fraction of the single-family portfolio, the amount of affordable housing units financed by the GSEs last year tilts heavily, and disproportionately, in favor of the apartment operations.
The numbers below paint a tale of the two business lines and bolster the case for a successful spin-off of the multifamily operations—if Congress ever gets around to dealing with GSE reform, that is.
| FREDDIE MAC | | Single-Family | Multifamily | | 2010 Earnings (net income) | -$16.3 billion | $965 million | | 2011 Earnings* (net income) | -$7.7 billion | $764 million | | Delinquency Rate | 3.51% | 0.33% | | Portfolio Size | $1.7 trillion | $174 billion | | Nonperforming Assets (as of Q3) | $120.6 billion | $3.3 billion | | REO Inventory | 59,616 properties | 20 properties | Affordable Units Financed in 2010
(80% AMI or below) | 533,915 | 192,257 |
| FANNIE MAE | | Single-Family | Multifamily | | 2010 Earnings (net income) | -$27 billion | $216 million | | 2011 Earnings* (net income) | -$19 billion | $406 million | | Delinquency Rate | 4% | 0.57% | | Portfolio Size | $2.84 trillion | $193.3 billion | | Nonperforming Assets (as of Q3) | $202.5 billion | $1.5 billion | | REO Inventory | 122,616 properties | 274 properties | Affordable Units Financed in 2010
(80% AMI or below) | 746,823 | 265,952 |
* All 2011 figures are as of the end of the third quarter.
Sources: Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac
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