The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has published a final rule establishing the Enterprise Housing Goals for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (GSEs) for the 2026 through 2028 performance period under the Federal Housing Enterprises Financial Safety and Soundness Act of 1992.
These annual housing goals are a statutory mandate requiring FHFA to set benchmark levels that measure the extent to which the GSEs’ mortgage purchases support affordable housing for low‑ and moderate‑income families while maintaining safety and soundness.
Effective Date and Scope
The final rule, codified under 12 CFR Parts 1209, 1281, and 1282, becomes effective on February 23, 2026. FHFA’s regulatory structure defines separate goals for single‑family and multifamily mortgage purchases and establishes benchmarks for home purchase and refinance activities in specified income categories.
Single‑Family Housing Goals
The final rule revises benchmarks for the single‑family housing goals, which target mortgages on owner‑occupied, conventional, conforming properties. The goals are measured as the percentage share of total mortgages acquired by the GSEs that meet defined affordability criteria.
For single‑family purchase and refinance goals, the final benchmark levels for 2026–2028 adjust downward compared to the 2025–2027 period:
- Low‑Income Home Purchase Goal (LIP): Borrowers with incomes up to 80 percent of area median income (AMI) – reduced from 25.0% to 21.0%.
- Very Low‑Income Home Purchase Goal (VLIP): Borrowers with incomes up to 50 percent AMI – reduced from 6.0% to 3.5%.
- Low‑Income Refinance Goal (LIR): Refinance mortgages for borrowers up to 80 percent AMI – reduced from 26.0% to 21.0%.
- Low‑Income Areas Home Purchase Subgoal (LIA): Newly combined subgoal incorporating previously separate criteria for low‑income census tracts and minority census tracts, set at 16.0%.
In simplifying the regulatory framework, FHFA replaced the two distinct area‑based subgoals with a single, consolidated low‑income areas subgoal and removed temporary “measurement buffers” that were intended to ease compliance uncertainty.
“MBA appreciates FHFA’s consideration of several recommendations outlined in our comment letter to support the GSEs’ mission of providing liquidity for affordable homeownership and rental housing over the next three years," said Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) President and CEO Bob Broeksmit, CMB. “We welcome the decision to lower the single-family low-income refinance goal, a constructive step that better reflects today’s interest rate environment and promotes a more sustainable approach to affordable lending. In addition, the final multifamily housing goals and benchmarks strike an appropriate balance, supporting a healthy multifamily ecosystem that advances both affordable and market-rate production to expand supply and help reduce rental costs."
Multifamily Housing Goals
For multifamily housing goals, which evaluate the share of affordable rental units financed through GSE mortgage purchases, the final benchmarks remain unchanged from the prior period:
- Multifamily Low‑Income Goal (≤ 80% AMI): 61.0%
- Multifamily Very Low‑Income Goal (≤ 50% AMI): 14.0%
- Small Multifamily Low‑Income Subgoal: 2.0%
These unchanged targets reflect FHFA’s conclusion that current levels align with market conditions and statutory purposes without adjustment.
Other Regulatory Elements
FHFA’s final rule also clarifies inflation adjustments to maximum civil monetary penalties tied to housing goals in accordance with the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015. Additionally, the rule amends compliance determination procedures: written notice of a preliminary determination is required only for Enterprises that have failed to meet a goal or subgoal. Technical renaming for certain single‑family goals distinguishes purchase from refinance activities.
Policy Considerations
In total, the FHFA received 19 public comments during the proposal period. Stakeholders included nonprofit advocacy groups, trade associations, and individual commentators.
"MBA recognizes the potential for market disruption when percent-of-business goals become misaligned with changing market conditions," added Brokesmit. "The revised goals help address those risks. While the final rule did not address MBA recommendations related to retaining the measurement buffers, we will continue to engage with FHFA and the GSEs to address those concerns.”
A majority of comments expressed concern that lower single‑family benchmarks could reduce access to credit for low‑ and moderate‑income borrowers and exacerbate racial and socioeconomic disparities in homeownership. Some industry groups supported parts of the rule, especially multifamily benchmarks and simplification measures, while critiquing other elements. FHFA considered the full range of input in adopting the final benchmarks.
