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MortgagePoint ยป Your Trusted Source for Mortgage Banking and Servicing News 70 March 2024 J O U R N A L the closing table. The initiative will extend more broadly to very low-income families who qualify for the company's Home Possi- ble and HFA Advantage products. "Today's announcement is a vital life- line for would-be homeowners, as studies show that down payment and closing costs are among the largest barriers to home- ownership for very low-income home- buyers," said Sonu Mittal, SVP and Head of Single-Family Acquisitions at Freddie Mac. "Our commitment to supporting these families runs deep, as we have provided assistance to this population through various programs since 2018. We are pleased to now make this assistance more broadly available to borrowers through our Home Possible program." Effective March 1, 2024, the credit will be available for very low-income borrow- ers earning 50% of area median income or less who are purchasing a home, provided certain requirements are met. Funds can be used in several ways, including down payment, closing costs, escrow, and mort- gage insurance premiums. It will be avail- able across Freddie Mac's Home Possible and HFA Advantage mortgage products. The announcement comes after a strong 2023 for Freddie Mac, with the com- pany financing approximately 800,000 home purchases. First-time homebuyers represented approximately 51% of those purchases, the highest percentage since the company started tracking that statistic three decades ago. In addition, the com- pany expects it will achieve all of its 2023 affordable housing goals set by the Federal Housing Finance Agency. "This new effort continues the progress we made in 2023 and is particularly im- portant in today's housing market, where elevated rates and low supply have created affordability challenges for many families," said Mittal. "We look forward to announc- ing additional ways to support low-income borrowers in the months ahead." The credit will be available through Freddie Mac's Home Possible mortgage product, which offers options and credit flexibilities to help very low- to low-in- come borrowers attain homeownership with a downpayment as little as 3%. It also will be available through Freddie Mac's HFA Advantage mortgage product, available exclusively to housing finance agencies (HFAs) seeking strategic solutions to expand homeownership responsibly. This new initiative is part of Fred- die Mac's longstanding efforts to make homeownership more accessible for low-income families. Recently, Freddie Mac announced DPA One, a tool that aggregates and showcases down payment assistance programs on a single platform. This allows lenders to easily access and compare programs while providers can have fewer submission errors, make re- al-time updates, and receive more visibility for their programs. GSES POST PROFITABLE 2023 EARNINGS REPORTS A s rates edged toward the 8% mark for part of 2023, the hous- ing market still proved to be on solid footing as both government-spon- sored enterprises (GSEs) posted profit- able year-end 2023 earnings. Fannie Mae reported a net income of $17.4 billion for 2023, and $3.9 billion for Q4 2023, according to the GSEs' latest earnings report, with net worth reaching $77.7 billion as of December 31, 2023. "The fourth quarter capped another successful year," Fannie Mae CEO Priscilla Almodovar said. "Fannie Mae reported $3.9 billion in net income, marking our 24th consecutive quarter of positive earnings. In 2023, we delivered $17.4 billion in earnings and contin- ued to rebuild our capital and further strengthen our financial stability. It was a challenging year for housing, with higher mortgage rates, limited homes for sale, and high home prices weighing on affordability. Against this backdrop, we provided $369 billion in liquidity, helping 1.5 million households buy, refinance, or rent a home. As we close on our 85th year It was a challenging year for housing, with higher mortgage rates, limited homes for sale, and high home prices weighing on affordability.