The companies’ market share during the pandemic jumped to nearly 60% of all new mortgages, up from about 42% in 2019, according to the Urban Institute, a Washington think tank that conducts research on economic and social policy. They instead buy them from lenders and package them into securities that are sold to investors. 10.īut some housing experts say the expected jump in loan limits raises questions about the appropriate role of the government in housing and whether taxpayers should effectively backstop sky-high housing prices, when Fannie and Freddie’s market share is already rising.įannie and Freddie, which guarantee about half of the $11 trillion mortgage market, don’t make loans. Nationwide, the median single-family, existing-home sales price rose 16% in the third quarter to $363,700 from a year before, a record in data going back to 1968, the National Association of Realtors said Nov. Low mortgage-interest rates and buyers looking for more space during the pandemic has helped fuel the housing price surge in recent months, along with a significant shortage of new homes. Mortgage bankers and real-estate agents say the new limits should keep pace with the double-digit rise in home prices. Mortgages within the limits are called conforming loans mortgages that exceed them are called jumbo mortgages, which tend to be more expensive for borrowers to obtain and generally have larger down payments for comparable borrowers.
30 by the agency, which oversees the two mortgage giants, and the new limits will go into effect in January. The precise loan limits are set to be announced Nov.