Freddie Mac’s mission is to deliver liquidity, stability and affordability throughout the housing finance system. It’s a commitment that extends to every corner of the country, including communities that have been overlooked for generations. A primary way we reach the nation’s most underserved regions is through our Duty to Serve plan. 

Freddie Mac’s first Duty to Serve plan spanned 2018-2021. It targeted the needs of very low-, low- and moderate-income households in three key areas: manufactured housing, rural housing, and affordable housing preservation. We accomplished a great deal as part of our first plan, which we are building upon with the release of our Duty to Serve plan for 2022-2024.  

Our 2022-2024 Duty to Serve plan sets a high bar. By the end of 2024, we estimate that our overall Duty to Serve efforts will have helped make home possible and affordable for nearly one million households, provided tens of billions of dollars in liquidity to historically underserved markets, and prepared tens of thousands of individuals to become homeowners. Here’s how we will get it done:  

Enhanced Support for Manufactured Housing 

Manufactured housing is an essential source of affordable housing for millions of American families, but it’s often too difficult to finance a manufactured home. Moreover, tenant protections in manufactured housing communities are often lacking.  

In our first plan, Freddie Mac provided nearly $3.7 billion in liquidity to support the financing of more than 27,000 manufactured homes. In support of this work, we introduced CHOICEHome®, which provides conventional financing for manufactured homes that look much like site-built homes. To support renters, we deployed a slate of groundbreaking tenant protections that are now required for all new manufactured housing communities we finance. We also created one of the industry’s first Resident-Owned Community offerings, giving tenants who wish to purchase or refinance their own communities a clear debt financing option. 

During this new plan cycle, our Single-Family division will undertake initiatives to expand support for manufactured housing. On the Multifamily side, we plan to reach more manufactured homeowners and renters by scaling up efforts to purchase loans for those communities that agree to implement lease protections, and we’ve committed to purchasing more loans for Resident-Owned Communities. 

Increased Presence in Rural Housing Markets

In high-needs rural areas, our research has demonstrated time and again that there simply isn’t enough liquidity to meet mortgage lending needs.  

Through our Duty to Serve efforts thus far, Freddie Mac has invested more than $550 million in Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) equity in rural areas, supporting more than 4,000 units at 69 separate properties. We also provided nearly $12 billion in liquidity to support financing for nearly 90,000 single-family homes in rural areas. Finally, we expanded our outreach to rural areas through homebuyer education programs, including those that target Native American communities. 

Freddie Mac has enhanced our commitments to provide liquidity to rural America over the next three years. We’ll target some of the hardest-to-serve markets in the country with programs that support the efforts of community development financial institutions (CDFIs) to originate mortgages in high-needs rural regions. Separately, we will continue growing our LIHTC equity investments in rural areas. 

Action to Preserve Affordable Housing

With demand for housing outpacing supply, Freddie Mac is committed to the long-term preservation of the nation’s affordable housing stock.  

Our Duty to Serve efforts thus far have provided nearly $30 billion in multifamily liquidity nationwide in support of affordable housing preservation, impacting more than 255,000 rental units. We have also provided over $1.8 billion in liquidity to support lending by small financial institutions as they work to boost affordable housing preservation.

Going forward, we are committed to ramping up the purchase of loans that complement federal, state and local affordable housing programs. We plan to grow our support for small financial institutions, which are a key source of financing for smaller, affordable housing. And we will also work to leverage our loan offerings to protect and prepare properties to withstand growing climate-related risks.  

Meeting a Critical Moment

Freddie Mac is continuing to make home possible for millions of Americans — whether homebuyers, homeowners or renters. Now more than ever, we must serve our mission expansively to meet the country’s housing needs. Our new Duty to Serve plan builds on our work throughout the past four years and provides a sustainable approach to address affordable housing in areas that have been underserved for far too long.  

We define each of the above objectives and specific deliverables to a high level of detail in our Duty to Serve plan, which is available on our website. I hope you’ll take the time to read more about what we have in store. 

©2024 by Freddie Mac.