Housing Enterprises:
Potential Impacts of Severing Government Sponsorship
GGD-96-120: Published: May 13, 1996. Publicly Released: May 13, 1996.
Additional Materials:
- Full Report:
Contact:
Pursuant to a legislative requirement and a congressional request, GAO examined the potential effects of privatizing the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and the Federal National Mortgage Association (Freddie Mac).
GAO noted that: (1) the privatization of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would have a major impact on both the secondary and primary mortgage markets; (2) if the two government-sponsored enterprises lost the benefits of their federal charter, their costs would increase because they would be responsible for paying Securities and Exchange Commission registration fees on their securities or state and local taxes; (3) by eliminating or reducing the implied federal guarantee on mortgage-backed securities (MBS) and debt, the enterprises' borrowing costs would increase from 30 to 106 basis points if the perceived federal guarantee were completely eliminated; (4) these increased costs would be passed to the homebuyer and the average mortgage interest rate would increase by 15 to 35 basis points; (5) eliminating the cost advantages of federal sponsorship could spur more competition and retain liquidity in the secondary market because firms would find it profitable to purchase and securitize conforming mortgages; (6) privatization could stabilize the securities market and prevent it from experiencing regional disparity; (7) privatization would pose an adverse threat to the enterprises' financial performance because they would be more dependent on their strategic business decisions and total quality management; (8) low and moderate-income borrowers would be most impacted by the enterprises' privatization because the federal programs providing credit to these groups would be eliminated; and (9) alternative initiatives should be studied to limit the risk to taxpayers.
Dec 16, 2020
Lead Paint in Housing:
HUD Has Not Identified High-Risk Project-Based Rental Assistance PropertiesGAO-21-55: Published: Dec 16, 2020. Publicly Released: Dec 16, 2020.
Dec 15, 2020
-
Disaster Housing:
Improved Cost Data and Guidance Would Aid FEMA Activation DecisionsGAO-21-116: Published: Dec 15, 2020. Publicly Released: Dec 15, 2020.
Dec 8, 2020
-
Troubled Asset Relief Program:
Treasury Continues Winding Down Housing ProgramsGAO-21-39: Published: Dec 8, 2020. Publicly Released: Dec 8, 2020.
Aug 13, 2020
-
Homelessness:
Better HUD Oversight of Data Collection Could Improve Estimates of Homeless PopulationGAO-20-433: Published: Jul 14, 2020. Publicly Released: Aug 13, 2020.
Jul 29, 2020
-
Crumbling Foundations:
Extent of Homes with Defective Concrete Is Not Fully Known and Federal Options to Aid Homeowners Are LimitedGAO-20-649: Published: Jul 29, 2020. Publicly Released: Jul 29, 2020.
Jul 27, 2020
-
Housing:
Preliminary Analysis of Homeownership Trends for Nine CitiesGAO-20-544R: Published: Jun 25, 2020. Publicly Released: Jul 27, 2020.
Jun 26, 2020
-
Rental Housing:
As More Households Rent, the Poorest Face Affordability and Housing Quality ChallengesGAO-20-427: Published: May 27, 2020. Publicly Released: Jun 26, 2020.
Apr 30, 2020
-
Priority Open Recommendations:
Department of Housing and Urban DevelopmentGAO-20-500PR: Published: Apr 23, 2020. Publicly Released: Apr 30, 2020.
Mar 17, 2020
-
Working Capital Fund:
HUD Could Improve Management to Better Achieve Efficiencies and Help Ensure Customer SatisfactionGAO-20-263: Published: Mar 17, 2020. Publicly Released: Mar 17, 2020.
Mar 3, 2020
-
Military Housing:
Preliminary Recommendations to Strengthen DOD's Oversight and Monitoring of Privatized HousingGAO-20-471T: Published: Mar 3, 2020. Publicly Released: Mar 3, 2020.
Looking for more? Browse all our products here
Explore our Key Issues on Housing
Explore our other Key Issues here
