March 5, 2012
On February 27 the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced a pilot program to be operated by Fannie Mae to sell nearly 2500 foreclosed properties in six hard hit foreclosure states for the purpose of providing rental housing. This is the first pilot project to be offered in the Obama Administration’s plan to expedite the disposition of foreclosed properties held by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and FHA.
Applications for pre-qualification for investors began on February 1. The latest announcement begins a further round of qualification with potential bidders required to demonstrate financial capacity, management capabilities and other qualifications. Only fully qualified bidders will be allowed to bid on pools ranging from 99 properties in Chicago to more than 600 in Atlanta.
NAR continues to express the concerns of members from around the nation about whether these pilots should be conducted at all in areas with diminished REO inventories, making the point that owner occupants and small investors should have more assistance to take advantage of foreclosed properties. (See separate item for report on NAR-FHFA meeting February 29.)