About Us

Performance and
Accountability Report

This annual report describes FHFA's accomplishments, as well as challenges, the agency faced in meeting the strategic goals and objectives during the past fiscal year.

FHFA Values

Fairness	We value varied perspectives and thoughts and treat others with impartiality.
Accountability	We are responsible for carrying out our work with transparency and professional excellence.
Integrity	We are committed to the highest ethical and professional standards to inspire trust and confidence in our work.
Respect	We treat others with dignity, share information and resources, and collaborate.

Supervision
& Regulation

Annual Report to Congress

Read about the agency’s 2020 examinations
of Fannie Mac, Freddie Mac and
the Home Loan Bank System.

Plans and Reports

We Want to Hear From You

Submit comments and provide input on FHFA Rules Open for Comment by clicking on Rulemaking and Federal Register.

Conservatorship

Conservatorship of Fannie Mae
and Freddie Mac

As conservator, FHFA is focused on ensuring that each Enterprise builds capital and improves its safety and soundness.

Conservatorship
Performance Goals

1.	Operate the business in a safe and sound manner.
2.	Promote sustainable and equitable access to affordable housing.

2023 Scorecard

Data & Tools

Downloadable Data
& Data Reports

FHFA experts provide reliable data, including all states, about activity in the U.S. mortgage market through its House Price Index, Refinance Report, Foreclosure Prevention Report, and Performance Report.

House Price Index Release Dates

See HPI Release Dates for 2023

Policy, Programs & Research

Source: FHFA

FHFA economists and policy experts provide reliable research and policy analysis about critical topics impacting the nation’s housing finance sector. Meet the experts...

Mortgage Translations
Mortgage Translations

Glossaries

COVID-19 Resources

Research

Home / Policy, Programs & Research / Research

Research

Our economists conduct research on a range of topics in housing finance, including analyzing data and uncovering emerging trends. In addition to presenting their research to policy makers, they share their research at academic conferences and publish in journals and other scholarly outlets. Our work enables those interested in housing finance to make decisions based on the best information available.

In particular, our researchers focused on housing trends in house prices, housing market conditions, and mortgage lending activity. In addition, we analyze the risk and capital adequacy of the housing government-sponsored enterprises and publish papers aimed at improving public understanding of the mortgage finance system.

See FHFA's Copyright and Permissions Notice.

Papers

Working Paper 23-01: The Value of Intermediaries for GSE Loans

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<h4 style="font-size:13px;font-style:normal;padding-top:8px !important;">Abstract:</h4> We analyze the costs and benefits of financial intermediaries on access to credit using confidential regulatory data on mortgages securitized by the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs). We find evidence of lenders pricing for observable and unobservable default risk independently from the GSEs. We explain these findings using a model of competitive mortgage lending with screening in which lenders acquire information beyond the GSEs’ underwriting criteria and retain a positive loss given default. The model shows that the discretionary behavior of lenders, relative to a counterfactual in which lenders passively implement the GSEs’ underwriting requirements and price competitively, benefits some borrowers with high observable risk at the expense of the majority of borrowers. Finally, the model suggests that the observed differences between banks and nonbanks are more consistent with differences in their expected loss given default rather than screening quality.

3/6/2023 3:00:15 PM

Home / Policy, Programs & Research / Research / Working Paper 23-01: The Value of Intermediaries for GSE Loans Joshua Bosshardt (FHFA); Ali Kakhbod (University of California

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FHFA MORTGAGE ANALYTICS PLATFORM (Version 3.0)

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Authors:Xiangdong Chen, Andrew Davenport, Sherman Davis, Caroline Hopkins, Charles Hu, Xun Liu, Alexandra Marr, Yan Sussman, Andrew Varrieur, Bojun Yan, Xiaoming ZhouFor Further Information Contact:Charles Hu, Supervisory Financial Analyst, Office of Capital Policy, (202) 649-3167, <a href="mailto:xiaoqiang.hu@fhfa.gov">xiaoqiang.hu@fhfa.gov</a>; Sherman Davis, Principal Financial Analyst, Office of Capital Policy, (202) 649-3502, <a href="mailto:sherman.davis@fhfa.gov">sherman.davis@fhfa.gov</a>.<p style="font-size:16px !important;font-family:"source sans pro", sans-serif !important;color:#444444 !important;font-weight:600 !important;padding-top:8px !important;margin-bottom:0px !important;padding-bottom:0px !important;"> Release Notes:This white paper incorporates the following major enhancements and updates reflected in the third version of the Single-family FHFA Mortgage Analytics Platform (FMAP v3.0) since version 2.0 of FMAP was released in May 2020:<ol><li style="line-height:1.4 !important;padding-top:8px !important;"> Redesigns and re-estimates loan behavioral equations.</li><li style="line-height:1.4 !important;"> Develops and implements a proprietary loss severity model.</li><li style="line-height:1.4 !important;"> Uses expanded and more representative loan performance data and more granular level economic data to estimate mortgage performance.</li><li style="line-height:1.4 !important;"> Estimates the behavioral equations via an iterative, out-of-sample, model building process. </li></ol><div class="ms-rtestate-read ms-rte-wpbox"><div class="ms-rtestate-notify ms-rtestate-read ca6b1af9-d44d-4b83-9ac2-ae0c7aa24246" id="div_ca6b1af9-d44d-4b83-9ac2-ae0c7aa24246" unselectable="on"></div><div id="vid_ca6b1af9-d44d-4b83-9ac2-ae0c7aa24246" unselectable="on" style="display:none;"></div></div>

12/8/2022 2:00:36 PM

Home / Policy, Programs & Research / Research / FHFA MORTGAGE ANALYTICS PLATFORM (Version 3.0) White

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Working Paper 22-04: Effects of Mortgage Interest Rates on House Price Appreciation: The Role of Payment Constraints

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Abstract: This research examines the effects of mortgage interest rates on house prices in the 100 largest U.S. cities, with appreciation driven by both short-run dynamics and convergence towards long-run economic fundamentals.  The nature of the long-run equilibrium depends on the elasticity of housing supply, and the speed of adjustment to this long-run equilibrium depends on the degree to which borrowers are near monthly debt service payment constraints. Accordingly, the pass-through of mortgage interest rates to house prices is location and time-varying. This has implications for our understanding of monetary policy transmission, systemic risk, and the role of household finances in the macroeconomy.

11/17/2022 10:01:58 PM

Home / Policy, Programs & Research / Research / Working Paper 22-04: Effects of Mortgage Interest Rates on House Price Appreciation: The Role of Payment Constraints

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Working Paper 22-03: Applying Seasonal Adjustments to Housing Markets

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<h4 style="font-size:13px;font-style:normal;">Abstract:</h4> House price seasonality has been increasing over the last decade, but adjustments have remained largely unchanged in commonly used public data. This paper shows how seasonal adjustments work—both theoretically and applied to observed transactions—when constructing house price indices (HPIs). In this paper, we find the seasonality in the housing market is not uniform across geographies. Evidence is provided about where adjustments are more necessary, how often they should be recalculated, and how the weather-related variables, social and industry characteristics impact difference between adjusted and non-adjusted HPI. Using the Federal Housing Finance Agency's (FHFA's) entire suite of public indices, we update adjustments that have been provided by the FHFA and offer new adjustments for over 400 metropolitan areas and other geographies, which haven't been provided before. We find the difference between previous and updated adjusted indices are relatively small, with slight improvement in recent years.A revised version of this paper has been accepted for publication in an academic journal with open (free) access. Citation: William Doerner, Wenzhen Lin. 2022. "Applying Seasonal Adjustments to Housing Markets." Cityscape, 24(3), 87-122. <a href="https://www.huduser.gov/portal/periodicals/cityscape/vol24num3/ch4.pdf" class="external-link">https://www.huduser.gov/portal/periodicals/cityscape/vol24num3/ch4.pdf</a>

3/23/2023 6:36:29 PM

Home / Policy, Programs & Research / Research / Working Paper 22-03: Applying Seasonal Adjustments to Housing Markets House price seasonality has been increasing over the last

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Working Paper 22-02: Housing Supply and Liquidity in the COVID-19 Era

38334

<h4 style="font-size:13px;font-style:normal;">Abstract:</h4> We document changes in national housing supply and liquidity during the COVID-19 era using a suite of monthly indices, ranging from summary statistics (mean and median time on the market, proportion of homes sold, etc.) to more advanced econometric indices that can address censoring and unobserved heterogeneity. Our results indicate a sharp structural break in most of the indices near the start of COVID-19 in March 2020, though each index’s most likely break date varies by a few months. Our findings suggest that the start of the pandemic saw a supply decrease, followed by an immediate and sustained price increase. Listings became more likely to be withdrawn, but those that sold did so faster relative to pre-COVID levels, indicating a change in the distribution of housing market liquidity. Finally, our results suggest that there were different types of structural breaks, specifically changes in the level, slope, and seasonality of the indices. A revised version of this paper has been accepted for publication in an academic journal with open (free) access. Citation: Justin Contat, Malcolm Rogers. 2022. "Housing Supply and Liquidity in the COVID-19 Era." Cityscape, 24(3), 123-152. <a href="https://www.huduser.gov/portal/periodicals/cityscape/vol24num3/ch5.pdf">https://www.huduser.gov/portal/periodicals/cityscape/vol24num3/ch5.pdf</a>

3/23/2023 6:36:29 PM

Home / Policy, Programs & Research / Research / Working Paper 22-02: Housing Supply and Liquidity in the COVID-19 Era We document changes in national housing supply and

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Working Paper 22-01: Mortgage Appraisal Waivers and Prepayment Speeds

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<h4 style="font-size:13px;font-style:normal;">Abstract:</h4> This paper examines factors affecting the use of appraisal waivers for mortgages guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and the effect of appraisal waivers on prepayment speeds. We find that the alignment of Freddie Mac’s eligibility criteria with those of Fannie Mae around the start of the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with an increase in the use of appraisal waivers. Conditional on satisfying the basic eligibility criteria, appraisal waivers are more common for refinance loans, loans serviced by nonbanks, and less risky borrowers. We also find that appraisal waivers were associated with higher conditional prepayment rates during 2020, but to a lesser extent in 2021 as refinancing activity slowed down. Much of this association can be explained by correlations between appraisal waivers and other observable determinants of prepayment speeds. A revised version of this paper has been accepted for publication in an academic journal with open (free) access. Citation: Joshua Bosshardt, William M. Doerner. 2022. "Mortgage Appraisal Waivers and Prepayment Speeds." Cityscape, 24(3), 61-86. <a href="https://www.huduser.gov/portal/periodicals/cityscape/vol24num3/ch3.pdf" class="external-link">https://www.huduser.gov/portal/periodicals/cityscape/vol24num3/ch3.pdf</a>

3/23/2023 6:36:29 PM

Home / Policy, Programs & Research / Research / Working Paper 22-01: Mortgage Appraisal Waivers and Prepayment Speeds Joshua Bosshardt; William M. Doerner; Fan Xu

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The Size of the Affordable Mortgage Market: 2022-2024 Enterprise Single-Family Housing Goals - December 2021

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In establishing benchmarks for the single-family home purchase and refinance goals for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Enterprises), the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) is required to measure the size of the affordable mortgage market.  This FHFA technical report documents the statistical forecast models that the modeling team has developed as part of the process for establishing the affordable housing goal benchmark levels for the Enterprises for 2022 through 2024.

12/22/2021 3:30:33 PM

Home / Policy, Programs & Research / Research / The Size of the Affordable Mortgage Market: 2022-2024 Enterprise Single-Family Housing Goals - December 2021

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Working Paper 21-03: The Riskiness of Outstanding Mortgages in the United States, 1999 – 2019

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Abstract: This paper introduces summary measures of credit risk for the stock of all outstanding mortgages in the United States for each quarter between 1999 and 2019. Mortgage terminations play a fundamental role in offsetting risk introduced by the flow of new originations because of refinance activity and the often dual nature of home buyers as concurrent sellers. To illustrate these concepts in a policy setting, I show the Home Affordable Refinance Program increased origination risk metrics but reduced overall risk due to the associated terminations of even riskier loans. Generally, book-level risk tends to lag behind originations: while origination risk peaked in 2006, the risk of outstanding mortgages peaked in 2007, and while origination risk bottomed out in 2011 and has been rising since, book-level risk continued its downward trend in 2019. Other results highlight previously rarely-examined market segments, including credit unions, the Federal Home Loan Bank system, and loans guaranteed by the Farm Service Agency/Rural Housing Service.

11/1/2021 3:00:17 PM

Home / Policy, Programs & Research / Research / Working Paper 21-03: The Riskiness of Outstanding Mortgages in the United States, 1999 – 2019 To illustrate these concepts in a

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Working Paper 21-02: Borrower Expectations and Mortgage Performance: Evidence from the COVID-19 Pandemic

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Abstract:We exploit plausibly exogenous fluctuations in borrower house price and job loss expectations to estimate the causal effect of expectations on loan performance. Borrowers whose house price expectations fell early in 2020 were more likely to enter forbearance, but then quickly exited as house prices continued to appreciate. However, borrowers who expected job loss entered and remained in forbearance throughout the weak labor market. We also find that house price changes in a borrower's social network affect their expectations as much as local house price appreciation, and these expectations formed at origination affect future leverage and debt service ratios. In sum, our results are consistent with models of adaptive expectations where borrowers adjust beliefs gradually and, in turn, affect aggregate activity in the mortgage market.

12/8/2022 6:02:43 PM

Home / Policy, Programs & Research / Research / Working Paper 21-02: Borrower Expectations and Mortgage Performance: Evidence from the COVID-19 Pandemic

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The Size of the Affordable Mortgage Market: 2022-2024 Enterprise Single Family Housing Goals

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In establishing benchmarks for the single-family home purchase housing goals for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Enterprises), the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) is required to measure the size of the mortgage market. This FHFA technical report documents the statistical forecast models that the modeling team has developed as part of the process for establishing the affordable housing goal benchmark levels for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for 2022 through 2024.

8/18/2021 3:08:43 PM

Home / Policy, Programs & Research / Research / The Size of the Affordable Mortgage Market: 2022-2024 Enterprise Single Family Housing Goals Ken Lam, Omena Ubogu, Jay Schultz

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Performance and
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We Want to Hear From You

Conservatorship of Fannie Mae
and Freddie Mac

Conservatorship
Performance Goals

Downloadable Data
& Data Reports

House Price Index Release Dates

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Performance and Accountability Report

FHFA Values​

Annual Report to Congress

We Want to Hear From You

Conservatorship of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac​​

Conservatorship ​Performance Goals​

Downloadable Data ​& Data Reports​​

House Price Index Rele​ase Dates​​​

Research

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Performance and
Accountability Report

FHFA Values

Conservatorship of Fannie Mae
and Freddie Mac

Conservatorship
Performance Goals

Downloadable Data
& Data Reports

House Price Index Release Dates

Research