Insights from Fannie and Freddie, Connect Apartments Panel Recap

Industry leaders met September 28th, 2017 at the InterContinental Los Angeles Downtown for Connect Apartments, one of the sector’s most prolific SoCal CRE events. The informative afternoon featured a variety of panel discussions, which focused on some of the sector’s hottest topics.

The event’s fifth panel, “Insights from Fannie & Freddie” was moderated by Jenny Redlin of Partner Engineering & Science. One of the first topics Redlin addressed was which markets were showing the greatest promise for multifamily investors.

Steve Griffin (Regional Director, Freddie Mac Multifamily-Western Region) said that “Seattle is absolutely red hot. [There are] very cutting edge and attractive multifamily housing [projects] going up to Seattle.” Amy Bernier (Customer Engagement, Multifamily, Fannie Mae) agreed that Seattle is currently a hot market. She also added that Fannie Mae has “[their] eye on Denver and Portland,” primarily due to the “supply that’s coming on in relation to the job growth.”

Later in the discussion,  Redlin also addressed both company’s green lending programs. “We (Fannie Mae) have two programs [for green lending],” said  Bernier,  both of which have been “very successful.” These programs have been especially popular for water savings. Griffin estimated that almost 75% of Freddie Mac’s green lending was specifically for water savings vs. energy.

For comments, questions or concerns, please contact Melissa Izbicki