Following up on a story we posted Dec. 11, 2013 regarding the confirmation of Rep. Mel Watt to lead the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), MHProNews has learned from the Manufactured Housing Institute (MHI) Rep. Watt has favored measures that require GSEs (government supported enterprises) to support affordable housing. This has included backing for provisions in the 2008 Housing and Economic Recovery Act (HERA) which established that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac had a Duty-to-Serve (DTS) underserved housing markets, including manufactured housing. The current acting director, Edward DeMarco, actively opposed any attempts to increase GSE activities while they were in conservatorship. The DTS states the GSEs need to establish secondary market programs that increase access to credit for the purchase of manufactured homes. With a potentially sympathetic director in the driver’s seat, the FHFA may live up to its DTS requirement.

(Photo credit: Jonathan Ernst/yahoo!reuters–Fannie Mae HQ)