One of the purposes of the Federal Housing Enterprises Financial Safety and Soundness Act of 1992 (the Safety and Soundness Act) was to address concerns about the affordable housing activities of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Enterprises). The Enterprises had historically lagged other sectors of the mortgage market when it came to affordable housing. In the Safety and Soundness Act, Congress directed the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to develop regulations that would set housing goals for the Enterprises to ensure they served the affordable housing segments of the market as defined by the statute.
This Note reviews the history of the housing goals. It reports on the market projections HUD used in setting the goals from time to time, as well as each Enterprise’s actual performance in relation to the goals, HUD’s projections, and the share of mortgages originated in each year that would have been eligible to count toward each goal.