Equitable 

Housing Finance Plan

2023
Equitable Housing Finance Plan 2023 | 2

2023 AT A

Glance

Plan’s primary objectives: 

Reduce rental and homeownership costs and 

eliminate barriers related to insufficient credit. 

Support long-term housing success for 

underserved borrowers and renters. 

What’s new?

Innovation portfolio to support communitybased approaches to expand homeownership 

and sustainable rental housing. 

Latino Housing Journey to help address housing 

barriers faced by renters and homeowners.

Actions to improve equitable access 

to affordable rental housing and 

empower renters to improve their finances.

© 2023 Fannie Mae
Equitable Housing Finance Plan 2023 | 3

Table of Contents

1. Introduction 5

2. Our Actions: Solutions Rooted in the Consumer Housing Experience 12

Housing Preparation 15 

Pilot rental payment reporting 

across the multifamily 

industry to help renters with 

no credit score establish a 

credit history and help those 

with low credit scores to 

increase them 16

Support financial capabilities 

coaching to build credit 

and savings in targeted 

markets 17

Support the implementation of 

a positive rent reporting program 

for Black renters to help them 

establish and/or improve credit 

using on-site financial coaching 

programs at rental properties 

18

Support the expansion of 

a comprehensive financial 

coaching and HUD-approved 

counseling and planning for 

development of affordable 

housing in rural Virginia 

(Innovation Challenge) 19

Renting or Buying 20

Expand access for 

borrowers with insufficient 

credit through automated 

underwriting enhancements 

to support consumers 21

Expand access to credit for 

first-time homebuyers through 

an automated underwriting 

enhancement that considers 

a borrower’s positive rent 

payment history as part of the 

credit risk assessment 22

Continue pilot of special purpose credit 

programs (SPCPs) to help support 

the expansion of homeownership 

and availability of down payment 

assistance (DPA), while exploring ways 

to reduce SPCP participation hurdles 

for lenders 23

Pilot options to defray and/or 

decrease the cost of renter security 

deposits to help Black and Latino 

renters qualify for quality rental 

housing and increase savings 24

Close the knowledge gap for 

consumer audiences with 

targeted outreach and expanded 

homeownership curriculum to 

create more confident consumers 

along the housing journey 25

Explore the potential to derive 

value from Social Index-related 

mortgage-backed securities 

issuance to promote access to credit 

and borrowing cost reduction for 

underserved borrowers 27

STEP 1

Housing Preparation

STEP 2

Renting or Buying

STEP 3

Move In and Maintain

Preparation

STEP 2

Renting or Buying

STEP 3

Move In and Maintain

Preparation

STEP 2

Renting or Buying

STEP 3

Move In and Maintain
Equitable Housing Finance Plan 2023 | 4

Valuation modernization to 

support an equitable appraisal 

process for Black and Latino 

households and communities 

of color 29

Expand Appraiser Diversity 

Initiative to attract new 

entrants to the residential 

appraisal field by reducing 

barriers to entry (such as 

education, training, and 

experience requirements), 

and fostering diversity, 

which we believe will help to 

reduce the instances 

of appraisal bias 30

Reduce closing costs 

for consumers to help 

remove the barrier of lack 

of sufficient funds for 

closing (down payment 

plus closing costs) 31

Pilot a multifamily borrower 

diversity program to reduce barriers 

for property owners from historically 

underserved groups 32

Launch a Delegated Underwriting 

and Servicing (DUS®) correspondent 

diversity program 33

Develop and launch SponsorDedicated Workforce (SDW), a 

Fannie Mae Multifamily loan incentive 

initiative for use by multifamily 

borrowers and lenders 34

Continue to advance SponsorInitiated Affordability (SIA), 

a Fannie Mae Multifamily loan 

incentive initiative for use 

by multifamily borrowers 

and lenders 35

Support the revitalization and 

expansion of housing opportunities 

in a historically Black neighborhood 

through rehabilitation and infill 

housing (Innovation Challenge) 36

Support the creation of locally 

owned modular construction 

facilities in urban communities 

of color (Innovation Challenge) 37

Support the development of a 

locally controlled special purpose 

credit program to increase Black 

homeownership (Innovation 

Challenge) 38

Connect diverse college students to 

career opportunities in housing and 

real estate finance via the expansion of 

Fannie Mae’s Future Housing 

Leaders® program 39

Move In and Maintain 40

Pilot homeownership sustainability services, such as post-purchase counseling 

and mortgage reserve accounts, as a feature of special purpose credit programs 

(SPCPs) to strengthen borrower housing stability over time 41

Promote awareness of fair 

servicing best practices 

to address borrower loss 

mitigation disparities 42

Expand counseling services 

for renters and homeowners 

facing hardship 43

Provide climate analytics to empower communities with data, enabling 

them to make a stronger case for change and resources 44

Preparation

STEP 2

Renting or Buying

STEP 3

Move In and Maintain

or Buying

STEP 3

Move In and Maintain

3. Fannie Mae Considerations 

and Potential Constraints 45

Implementation 

Considerations 46

4 . Appendix 47

Research Agenda 48

Governance Strategy 

and Execution 50

Summary of Consultations 50

Summary of Plan Actions 53

Summary of Plan Changes 

from 2022 to 2023 56
1Equitable Housing Finance Plan 2023 | 5

Introduction

Fannie Mae’s work to advance equity 

in housing finance is an adaptive, 

long-term undertaking. 

By design, Fannie Mae’s three-year Equitable Housing Finance Plan, 

released in 2022, has changed and will continue to change as the needs 

of renters and homeowners shift, as our ambitions and capabilities 

grow, and as the housing and mortgage markets evolve.
Equitable Housing Finance Plan 2023 | 6

INTRODUCTION

This 2023 Plan Update outlines the actions we are pursuing in the second year of our 2022 – 2024 

Equitable Housing Finance Plan. Many of the actions described here are new, while many others 

have been changed to take into account market dynamics and lessons learned. 

What has not changed is our end goal: knocking down barriers that contribute to disparities in 

homeownership and access to affordable rental housing for people who have historically been 

underserved, ignored, or excluded by our country’s housing and mortgage finance systems by 

virtue of their race, ethnicity, or other attribute. 

This goal is a long-term commitment 

that is an essential part of Fannie Mae’s 

mission, its long-term strategic business 

priorities, and is a core reflection of 

its corporate values. Fannie Mae’s 

housing equity efforts have been guided 

by its Consumer Housing Journey, 

a data-driven, evidence-based, and 

consumer-centric framework for 

understanding barriers to stable housing 

and homeownership. Fannie Mae has 

continued to refine this journey map. In 

2022, our first use case of the Consumer 

Housing Journey focused on Black renters 

and homeowners. In this Update, we 

applied a comparable approach to gain 

insight into the diverse housing journeys of 

Latino people in the United States.

The Plan’s Update for 2023 contains 

important changes, including: 

• The incorporation of a newly 

created Latino Housing Journey

in the application of our Plan 

actions to address housing barriers 

faced by renters and homeowners

• New actions that build on Fannie 

Mae’s initial Plan. Notably, new 

actions in this plan are designed 

specifically to improve equitable 

access to affordable rental housing 

and empower renters to improve 

their finances. 

• An innovation portfolio that 

includes five projects to support 

the creation of communitybased approaches to expanding 

homeownership and sustainable 

rental housing for Black people in 

communities of opportunity.

• The closing out or removal of 

prior actions deemed completed, 

unviable, or ineffective.

• Revisions to most existing actions 

based upon early test-and-learn 

programs, research, or consumer 

and stakeholder input.

This Update contains the complete 

catalogue of actions we are pursuing 

in 2023, including each action’s goals 

and, where applicable, hoped-for 

outcomes. This Update also contains 

an explanation of how our catalogue 

of actions changed in the first year.

This Update should be read in 

conjunction with Fannie Mae’s 

Equitable Housing Finance Plan, 

originally released in June 2022, 

as well as its Equitable Housing 

Finance Plan Performance Report, 

which contains both narrative and 

data-driven results from our housing 

equity efforts in 2022.

Equitable Housing Finance Plan 2023 | 6
Equitable Housing Finance Plan 2023 | 7

Two primary objectives will drive our Plan as it 

continues to evolve: 

Reducing up-front rental and homeownership costs and eliminating 

outdated barriers related to insufficient credit to directly drive meaningful 

and measurable improvements in housing access and stability. 

Improving the chances for long-term success for underserved 

borrowers and renters by focusing on education and counseling, 

successfully navigating the mortgage process, and housing stability. 

INTRODUCTION

Housing market and economic conditions

1 Fannie Mae Home Price Index.

2 Fannie Mae Economic & Strategic Research Group estimate.

This Plan, much like the Charter of 

Fannie Mae, must consider and respond 

appropriately to the macroeconomic 

environment and its impact on the 

mortgage market. In 2022, an array 

of powerful economic and housing 

market forces combined to make 

access to sustainable rental housing or 

homeownership for U.S. households 

more difficult than it has been in decades:

• Mortgage rates rose to a level not 

seen in 20 years, increasing the cost 

of borrowing after a prolonged period 

of unusually low mortgage rates.

• Home prices rose more than 35% on 

a national level from the beginning of 

2020 to the beginning of 2022,1

 which 

has put buying a home increasingly out 

of reach for low-income consumers. At 

the same time, the months’ supply of 

existing homes, upon which most firsttime homebuyers rely, remains 

at historic lows. 

• Inflation increased significantly, 

reducing the amount of income 

consumers have available to put 

toward a mortgage or rent. We 

estimate that as of January 2023, 

the mortgage payment on a newly 

purchased median-priced home 

would consume more than 30.1% 

of the income of a median-income 

household. In January of 2021, less 

than two years earlier, it would have 

consumed just 18.6%. 

• Mortgage payment and rent 

increases have far outpaced income 

growth, particularly for the homes 

and rental properties considered 

most affordable. A 2022 analysis

by the realty firm Redfin found that 

homebuyers need an annual income 

of $107,000 to afford a median-priced 

U.S. home, up 45.6% in one year. 

While rent growth began to ease in 

late 2022, it was only after rising 38% 

in the previous decade.2

The housing market is in a state 

of flux and transition. Home prices 

nationally began to decline in the 

second half of 2022. However, significant 

constraints on the supply of homes 
Equitable Housing Finance Plan 2023 | 8

available for sale — particularly those 

affordable to low- and moderateincome homebuyers — mean that 

declines in home values likely will be 

moderate in the near- to mediumterm. And the supply of homes 

affordable for purchase by low- and 

moderate-income households will 

continue to be particularly tight in 

geographic areas of high economic 

opportunity. Furthermore, continuing 

supply shortages of affordable 

multifamily units adversely impacts 

renters’ ability to find housing.

As we work to achieve the objectives 

set forth in this Plan, we remain 

mindful of the underlying goal of 

delivering a sustainable homeownership 

or rental experience for its intended 

beneficiaries — and doing so in a way 

that is safe and sound for consumers, 

Fannie Mae, and the overall housing 

finance system. 

As we describe in our first-year 

Performance Report, Fannie Mae has 

made strides to enable a fairer, more 

inclusive mortgage system and help 

renters access housing in communities 

of opportunity. Indeed, we believe that 

over time these strides can and will help 

reduce racial gaps on homeownership 

and rental opportunities. In the near term, 

however, progress will be challenging.

Given current housing market 

conditions, and barring an unforeseen 

nationwide program to increase the 

supply of affordable housing, the 

mortgage finance system’s ability 

to deliver meaningful increases in 

homeownership rates in the near term 

is modest. This is why our emphasis 

on financial well-being, homebuyer 

education, and programs to promote 

ongoing housing stability and assistance 

in times of hardship are such critical 

components of this Plan. 

The role of consumer outreach and engagement

The consumer education, counseling, 

and outreach efforts contained in 

this Plan are designed to address 

homeownership and knowledge 

gaps and to prepare consumers for 

unexpected hardships.

As discussed above, a key focus for 

Fannie Mae in 2023 is on housing 

stability: helping people stay in their 

homes so housing disparities do not 

widen further. 

During the height of the COVID-19 

pandemic, Fannie Mae implemented a 

comprehensive program to ensure as 

many homeowners as possible had 

the tools necessary to stay in their 

homes while navigating the economic 

and health effects of the pandemic. 

We began a nationwide education 

outreach program to provide consumers 

with actionable information about how 

to access housing support and relief 

options, especially for those whose 

lives and incomes may have been 

disrupted. The “Here to Help” campaign 

reached consumers with targeted 

online resources and demonstrated 

that there was not only an audience 

but a need for trusted sources of 

actionable information 

INTRODUCTION
Equitable Housing Finance Plan 2023 | 9

about navigating financial hardships 

that could affect a consumer’s ability 

to make a monthly housing payment. 

Fannie Mae servicers implemented 

more than 1.4 million COVID-related 

forbearance plans by 2022, a result 

that we feel was facilitated by proactive 

consumer educational campaigns such 

as “Here to Help.” Fannie Mae wants 

to build on this momentum. Indeed, 

through the on-going FHFA Servicing 

Alignment Initiative (SAI) first announced 

in 2011, Fannie Mae works together 

with Freddie Mac, under the direction 

of FHFA, to align home retention loss 

mitigation options. This alignment 

allows servicers to uniformly implement 

loss mitigation policies that promote 

equitable outcomes for borrowers facing 

financial hardship regardless of servicer. 

Fannie Mae will continue to work with 

FHFA and Freddie Mac on refining its 

retention loss mitigation options given 

macroeconomic conditions, focusing 

on updates to payment deferral plans 

and the “Flex Mod” waterfall to provide 

meaningful assistance to homeowners 

who may face hardships in 2023 

and beyond.

This focus on housing stability — 

taking affirmative steps to improve 

homeowners’ and renters’ ability 

to remain stably housed through 

financial shocks or unexpected 

costs — is why several actions 

contained in this Plan include 

programs providing educational 

materials and tools to help Black, 

Latino, and other historically 

underserved consumers navigate 

not only homebuying but homeowning 

and renting. In addition, many of the 

discrete actions in this Plan entail direct 

consumer education and outreach, 

particularly for historically underserved 

consumers. Much of this work will entail 

tools to promote personal financial 

well-being that could benefit consumers 

in a variety of ways, not just in a quest for 

homeownership. For instance, aspects 

of our work highlight the benefits of 

making rental payments on time, over 

time, as well as maintaining good credit 

and building an emergency fund.

What is more, Fannie Mae is enhancing 

Desktop Underwriter® (DU®) in ways 

that will responsibly help enable access 

to sustainable mortgage financing for 

many historically underserved groups, 

including Black and Latino first-time 

homebuyers. Consumer awareness, 

understanding, and trust in these 

underwriting changes is an essential 

aspect of their long-term success.

Housing access and equity challenges 

have unique features rooted in local 

communities. The same can be said 

of the opportunities to address these 

challenges. A key ingredient in Fannie 

Mae’s housing equity strategy is its 

ongoing engagement with and, in some 

cases, direct involvement in local efforts 

to address racial equity gaps in housing. 

INTRODUCTION
Equitable Housing Finance Plan 2023 | 1 0

INNOVATION CHALLENGE

Fannie Mae’s unique position in 

the secondary mortgage market 

enables us to bring together forwardthinking organizations to identify ways 

to knock down the barriers that many 

renters and homebuyers experience 

in their housing journey. Elevating and 

supporting these organizations, and 

learning how their efforts could be 

expanded to achieve results on a larger 

scale, was the driving force behind 

the inclusion of Fannie Mae’s 2022 

Sustainable Communities Innovation 

Challenge awardees in this Plan. 

In 2017, Fannie Mae launched the 

Sustainable Communities Innovation 

Challenge, a nationwide open 

competition designed to spur innovation 

and incubate new ideas that tackle some 

of the toughest challenges in housing. 

Through the Innovation Challenge, we 

have been able to work closely with 

organizations in sectors adjacent to 

housing, such as health and education, 

to test new ways of addressing persistent 

gaps in housing access. 

There are five Innovation Challenge 

actions in our updated Equitable 

Housing Finance Plan. These localized 

actions demonstrate opportunities to 

close housing inequities based on the 

specific needs of local communities. 

These actions were selected because 

they seek to overcome barriers common 

to many Black families with communitybased solutions, including:

• Establishing or improving credit 

scores so Black households have 

more opportunities to rent, own, and 

build wealth with a home.

• Reducing up-front and ongoing costs 

associated with buying and owning a 

home — costs that for many first-time 

Black households are a significant 

barrier to achieving sustainable 

homeownership. 

• Providing locally based support 

structures to help homeowners and 

renters withstand financial shocks or 

hardship to remain housed. 

INTRODUCTION

Equitable Housing Finance Plan 2023 | 1 0
Equitable Housing Finance Plan 2023 | 1 1

Three of the Innovation Challenge 

awardees in this plan aim to have 

a direct impact on local affordable 

housing supply, which is a major 

driver of housing inequity in the United 

States. Fannie Mae has limited ability to 

directly influence the supply of housing, 

but local efforts focused on the unique 

contours of community housing supply 

gaps can make a difference where 

it counts. 

These Innovation Challenge winners are 

a prime example of the strategy behind 

this Equitable Housing Finance Plan, 

which entails:

• Driving change at scale where Fannie 

Mae has the direct ability to do so.

• Supporting or enabling the efforts of 

other groups and organizations who 

can help close equity gaps in specific 

industry areas or local communities. 

• Experimenting, testing, and 

learning from new or untried 

tactics and approaches to old 

problems, because we know that 

effective change often starts small 

before it can have a big impact.

The obstacles these five Innovation 

Challenge awardees seek to 

overcome are not unique to their local 

communities. Renters and homebuyers 

in underserved communities throughout 

the United States — particularly Black 

people and other racial or ethnic 

groups — face diminished opportunities 

from systemic inequities in housing 

access that have lasted in many cases 

for generations. By supporting these 

innovative efforts, Fannie Mae believes 

they offer the potential for scalable 

solutions that could be adapted and 

deployed in other U.S. communities 

to help overcome these systemic 

inequities and potentially inform 

future Fannie Mae policies.
2Equitable Housing Finance Plan 2023 | 1 2

 Our Actions 

Solutions Rooted in the 

Consumer Housing Experience
Equitable Housing Finance Plan 2023 | 1 3

To refine our focus and prioritize our actions in this Plan, we developed a consumer-centric 

framework that spans all aspects of a typical consumer’s housing lifecycle. We call this framework 

the Consumer Housing Journey. 

Our first use case of this Housing Journey is to understand the obstacles faced by Black renters and homeowners, which 

informed most of the actions originally included in our 2022 – 2024 Plan. In 2023, we expanded our scope to create a journey 

map for Latino consumers, as well. 

Of course, we acknowledge that the housing experience of Black and Latino people in the United States is far from monolithic, 

and that the “Journey” we describe does not capture the infinite nuance of lived experience. Nevertheless, this journey 

mapping has proved a valuable and durable framework for both prioritizing our actions as well as refining the outcomes Fannie 

Mae seeks. The following figure illustrates the lifecycle of the Consumer Housing Journey.

OUR ACTIONS

While there are four stages in the consumer journey, Fannie Mae’s actions in this Plan focus on the first three:

HOUSING 

PREPARATION:

RENTING 

OR BUYING:

MOVE IN 

AND MAINTAIN:

Helping consumers prepare early for 

sustainable homeownership and access to 

quality rental housing through establishing 

strong financial and credit foundations.

Removing unnecessary obstacles 

consumers face in shopping for, 

acquiring, renting, or financing 

a home.

Improving the infrastructure of sustainable 

homeownership so that homeowners 

and renters can withstand disruptions 

or crises and remain stably housed.

For each stage of the Consumer Housing Journey, Fannie Mae has sought to develop actions that could help to reduce or remove 

common barriers to accessing mortgage finance and long-term sustainable homeownership or rental housing for Black, Latino, 

and other historically underserved consumers. 

As noted above, each person’s housing journey is unique. However, historically underserved people and communities do, in 

fact, share common barriers to housing access. Indeed, Black and Latino people have long faced common systemic obstacles to 

accessing stable housing and homeownership, though they may experience these obstacles in different ways or at different times. 

Broadly, these common barriers include higher relative housing cost burdens — particularly up-front cost burdens — that lead to 

lack of savings and lower relative wealth, an inadequate supply of housing that is affordable, and household financial profiles (such 

as credit histories or income sources) that diverge from the “norm.”
Equitable Housing Finance Plan 2023 | 1 4

OUR ACTIONS

Consumers who identify as Black and/or Latino share many obstacles, and 

we have an opportunity to design solutions that impact both consumer groups.

Shared obstacles

Financial 

realities

Bias and 

unequal access

Lack of 

affordable housing

Housing 

vulnerability

Many of the actions outlined below address these shared obstacles.

Latino 

Housing 

Journey

Black 

Housing 

Journey

17% 15%

68%
Equitable Housing Finance Plan 2023 | 1 5

Housing 

Preparation

In the following pages, we organize the actions of this Plan by 

the Consumer Housing Journey stage. Embedded in each action 

is the housing barrier we seek to help consumers overcome.
Equitable Housing Finance Plan 2023 | 1 6

STEP 1

Housing Preparation

STEP 2

Renting or Buying

STEP 3

Move In and Maintain

Construct and launch a pilot project to evaluate the viability and effectiveness of 

having multifamily property owners report rental payment data to credit bureaus. 

If pilot findings are favorable, develop a Fannie Mae program to accelerate the 

adoption of rental payment reporting across the multifamily industry. 

2023 TARGETS AND OUTCOMES:

In September 2022, Fannie Mae launched this pilot, which incentivizes multifamily 

borrowers to adopt positive rent payment reporting to credit bureaus. Esusu Financial, 

Inc., Jetty Credit, and Rent Dynamics are approved vendors who collect the rent 

payment data from participating multifamily property owners and format it for 

dissemination to the credit bureaus. 

Fannie Mae will continue to track adoption through six previously identified non-white 

super majority or majority metropolitan statistical areas, with targeted outreach to 

borrowers in these areas. 

Q1

Increase adoption of rental payment reporting at Fannie 

Mae properties, including targeted outreach, as well as 

establish quantifiable goals.

Q2 Start compiling preliminary findings and trends.

Q3 Complete active sign-up period of the pilot.

Q4

Continue findings period and start write-up of adoption, 

impact, and potential next steps.

ACTION

Pilot rental payment reporting across the multifamily industry to help Black and Latino 

renters with no credit score establish a credit history and help those with low credit scores 

to increase them

OUTCOME:

We will track adoption and impact metrics including, but not limited 

to, number of units/properties adopted; number of residents reporting; 

overall opt-in/opt-out rate; and impact on credit scores that will 

be measured by the number of new credit scores established and 

improvements in existing credit scores.

Equitable Housing Finance Plan 2023 | 1 6

With my positive rent 

history and paying rent on 

time, my loan officer was 

able to get me approved 

for a conventional loan.” 

— Renter turned homeowner
Equitable Housing Finance Plan 2023 | 1 7

STEP 1

Housing Preparation

STEP 2

Renting or Buying

STEP 3

Move In and Maintain

Fannie Mae has partnered with the 

Local Initiatives Support Corp. (LISC) 

to help consumers in priority markets 

build credit and savings. LISC supports 

local Financial Opportunity Center® 

(FOC) partners that provide financial 

coaching and other services to improve 

clients’ financial capabilities. While 

FOC partners do not specifically focus 

on housing with clients, they support 

the foundational financial capability 

development, including building credit 

and savings, which is critical for stable 

homeownership and renting. In 2021 – 

2022, Fannie Mae partnered with FOC 

sites to serve predominantly Black and 

Latino clients. To help FOC partners 

serve clients with a housing lens, we 

also supported LISC’s development of 

a “Housing Assessment” questionnaire 

available to all FOC sites to help 

coaches assess the housing stability 

of their clients and establish housingrelated goals. 

NEW ACTION

Support financial capabilities coaching to build credit and savings in targeted markets

2023 TARGETS AND OUTCOMES:

In 2023, the LISC partnership will focus on supporting LISC’s FOC partners in 

the five priority markets of Philadelphia, the Twin Cities, Detroit, Chicago, and 

Houston, serving at least 60% people of color with financial coaching. 

Q2 500 participants

Q4 500 participants

1,000 participants served 

through FOC services

OUTCOME:

Our goal is to serve 1,000 participants through FOC services, serving 60% or more 

people of color and tracking clients’ increases in credit scores and savings.

60% or more

will be people of color
Equitable Housing Finance Plan 2023 | 1 8

STEP 1

Housing Preparation

STEP 2

Renting or Buying

STEP 3

Move In and Maintain

The Community Builders (TCB), 

a mission-driven, nonprofit real 

estate developer and manager of 

affordable rental properties, will 

help residents at nine of its rental 

properties in Chicago, Detroit, and 

Richmond establish and/or repair 

credit by implementing an on-time 

rent payment program. In addition, 

TCB will offer two optional programs 

for residents that complement the 

rent reporting program: financial 

coaching with an on-site Community 

Life Coach, and HUD’s Family 

Self-Sufficiency program to help 

establish bank accounts and build 

savings through earned income. 

As with each of Fannie Mae’s 2022 

Innovation Challenge projects, the 

goal is to support local approaches 

to addressing housing inequities 

and the potential to scale that 

approach, where applicable, 

to other communities.

NEW ACTION 

Support the implementation of a positive rent reporting program for Black renters to 

help them establish and/or improve credit using on-site financial coaching programs 

at rental properties (Innovation Challenge)

2023 TARGETS AND OUTCOMES:

A key objective in 2023 will be to support launch of the Esusu positive rent 

reporting program in three new markets (Chicago, Detroit, and Richmond). 

We will support TCB as they monitor changes in credit scores of participating 

residents (for example: establishing credit scores and/or improvements to 

existing credit scores).

Q1

Launch the Esusu Rent Reporting for Credit Building program 

at seven TCB properties in Chicago.

Q2

Launch the Esusu program at one TCB property in Detroit and one in 

Richmond. Launch optional Financial Coaching and Empowerment 

Program, including the Affordable Housing Workshop series. Finalize 

Early Childhood Education (ECE) partners.

Q3

Launch and enroll approximately 300 residents in the HUD 

Family Self-Sufficiency Program across properties in Chicago, 

Richmond, and Detroit.

Q4

Gather data from annual Community Life Questionnaires, 

and intake forms to develop resident and community baselines.

OUTCOME: 

By the end of 2023, The Community Builders will have launched the Esusu Rent 

Reporting for Credit Building, Financial Coaching and Empowerment, and HUD Family 

Self-Sufficiency programs in all three markets. Achieving these outcomes will enable TCB 

to help approximately 1,700 Black renters establish and/or improve their credit by 2025.
Equitable Housing Finance Plan 2023 | 1 9

STEP 1

Housing Preparation

STEP 2

Renting or Buying

STEP 3

Move In and Maintain

The Emporia Pathways project, 

led by the Southside Community 

Development & Housing Corp. 

(SCDHC) of Richmond, VA, will 

spur the development of healthy, 

thriving, sustainable communities in 

underserved, predominantly Black 

rural neighborhoods by expanding 

their HUD-approved financial 

counseling and employment coaching 

in Emporia, VA. SCDHC will create a 

comprehensive financial coaching 

and foreclosure prevention program 

while also providing pre- and postpurchase counseling, workforce 

development training, employment 

placement services, and matched 

savings programs. As part of this effort, 

SCDHC plans to secure financing 

and site development for affordable 

homes to rent or purchase. As with 

each of Fannie Mae’s 2022 Innovation 

Challenge projects, the goal is to 

support local approaches to addressing 

housing inequities and the potential to 

scale that approach, where applicable, 

to other communities.

NEW ACTION

Support the expansion of a comprehensive financial coaching and HUD-approved counseling 

and planning for development of affordable housing in rural Virginia (Innovation Challenge)

2 0 2 3 TA R G E TS A N D O U TCO M E S : 

In 2023, Fannie Mae will support SCDHC’s expansion of HUD-approved counseling 

services, including a new walk-in service center, and production of an architecture 

and engineering design for site plan and infrastructure development for 

affordable housing in Emporia.

Q1 Conduct community convenings for Emporia residents to attract 

clients for housing counseling and open walk-in services in Emporia; 

complete the preliminary architecture and engineering survey.

Q2 Complete a marketing and community outreach and engagement 

plan for services offered to local residents; complete site 

planning for new rental units; secure support and additional 

financial resources for the 55-unit multifamily affordable housing 

development. 

Q3 Complete site planning for new single-family homes; create 

a working group with City of Emporia and other stakeholders 

to develop a guidebook to be published in 2024 as a model 

for affordable housing developments in rural majority Black 

communities.

Q4 Provide at least 75 clients with housing counseling services; 

secure financing for single-family homes; complete capacity 

building to secure funds for affordable multifamily properties.

OUTCOME: 

By the end of 2023, SCDHC will have provided 75 Emporia residents with financial and 

employment coaching and opened a new walk-in service center. In addition, SCDHC will 

have completed the site development plans for the new housing units. Achieving these 

outcomes will enable SCDHC to reach 150 Black consumers over two years and engage 

them in financial and employment counseling. Of that total, SCDHC expects 100 Black 

consumers will participate in their matched savings program. These efforts will also 

put SCDHC on the path to construct 70 new units of affordable housing by 2026 and 

publish a resource guide in 2023 for potential use by other rural communities.
Equitable Housing Finance Plan 2023 | 2 0

Renting 

or Buying
STEP 1

Housing Preparation

STEP 2

Renting or Buying

STEP 3

Move In and Maintain

Equitable Housing Finance Plan 2023 | 2 1

Increaseaccess to credit for borrowers without a credit score by implementing 

automated underwriting enhancements that use bank statement data to assess 

or consider a borrower’s monthly cash flow over a 12-month period to potentially 

enhance their credit risk assessment. We believe this will increase access for 

borrowers without a credit score by implementing capabilities to conduct a cash 

flow assessment3

 in Fannie Mae’s automated underwriting engine, Desktop 

Underwriter (DU), and simplify the underwriting process by providing an automated 

option for lenders to document alternative sources of data used in automated 

underwriting. In 2022, we implemented both enhancements within DU for loans 

where no borrower has a credit score.

3 Cash flow assessment: Using borrower-permissioned bank statement data to assess or 

consider a borrower’s cash flow by reviewing transaction patterns, balance trends, and 

other observations over time in their checking and savings accounts and investment 

accounts to make a prediction about an applicant’s creditworthiness.

2 0 2 3 TA R G E TS A N D O U TCO M E S : 

Utilization of the enhancement is primarily dependent upon mortgage lenders 

adopting and deploying this service. In 2023, our focus will be on increasing 

lender adoption of the new cash flow enhancement.

ACTION: 

Expand access for borrowers with insufficient credit through automated underwriting 

enhancements to support Black and Latino consumers

The market has changed 

so much over the past 

year. This is making a 

difference in helping 

borrowers buy a home.” 

— Mortgage lender

OUTCOME: 

Growth in the number of Black and Latino consumers 

benefiting from the enhancement, as measured by an 

increase in lender adoption and loans delivered that 

used the enhancement. 

Equitable Housing Finance Plan 2023 | 2 1
STEP 1

Housing Preparation

STEP 2

Renting or Buying

STEP 3

Move In and Maintain

Equitable Housing Finance Plan 2023 | 2 2

Increase access to credit for first-time homebuyers by expanding adoption of lender 

and borrower use of the positive rent payment history enhancement. We will continue 

to expand adoption and usage of the positive rent payment history enhancement in 

DU by further driving adoption of the technical enhancement among lenders, vendors, 

and other key constituents to ensure broad availability for borrowers. In 2022, we 

expanded adoption of the positive rent payment history enhancement in DU via 

outreach through direct lender and vendor engagement, paid digital media outreach, 

earned and owned media, webinars, conferences, and partner and affinity marketing. 

Positive rent payment history data is also visible on Fannie Mae ConnectTM, an 

online portal for loan data, reporting, and analytics, to help lenders identify potential 

opportunities. Lastly, we launched a consumer informational marketing campaign to 

create awareness of the potential ability for consistent, on-time rent payments to help 

lenders qualify borrowers for a mortgage and encourage borrower outreach to lenders.

2 0 2 3 TA R G E TS A N D O U TCO M E S : 

Utilization of this enhancement is primarily dependent upon mortgage lenders opting 

and deploying this service. In 2023, our focus will continue to be on lender outreach 

and increasing adoption of the positive rent payment history enhancement on a yearover-year basis.

ACTION: 

Expand access to credit for first-time homebuyers through an automated underwriting 

enhancement that considers a borrower’s positive rent payment history as part of the credit 

risk assessment

By incorporating a vital component of their 

lives, such as rental payments, into the credit 

evaluation process, we can now provide a 

path to homeownership to these borrowers.” 

— Early adopter mortgage lender

OUTCOME: 

Growth in the number of mortgage applications, the number of Black and Latino consumers benefiting, and delivered 

loans that used the enhancement. 

Equitable Housing Finance Plan 2023 | 2 2

Approximately

3,400

homebuyers were 

approved-eligible when 

they may not have been 

without including positive 

rent payment history.
STEP 1

Housing Preparation

STEP 2

Renting or Buying

STEP 3

Move In and Maintain

Equitable Housing Finance Plan 2023 | 2 3

Fannie Mae launched a special purpose credit program in late 2022 that offered 

flexibilities such as down payment assistance, expanded income-level eligibility for 

HomeReady® mortgages, reduced closing costs or other innovations that enable 

access to credit. Fannie Mae launched SPCPs in majority Black census tracts in 

Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Detroit, Memphis, and Philadelphia. Interest in SPCPs 

across the mortgage landscape has continued to grow, and several industry 

participants are actively developing their own programs that have similar goals and 

communities in minds. In addition to our SPCP program, Fannie Mae is engaged 

with lenders and other industry stakeholders to support their SPCP efforts focused 

on enabling underserved borrowers to overcome obstacles rooted in historical 

inequities that are highly specific to local markets or populations. 

2023 TARGETS AND OUTCOMES:

While still in its early stages (launched in December 2022), our focus will continue 

to be on lender readiness and pilot participation as a means to grow the number 

of borrowers in the pilot.

Throughout 2023, we will:

Drive adoption with lenders through on-going engagement 

to increase applications and closed loans.

Monitor and evaluate our SPCP program against pilot 

success measures. 

Continue to identify additional areas for opportunity 

to support Black and Latino homebuyers.

Fannie Mae will also incorporate the research from the Latino Housing Journey to 

expand our SPCP pilot markets to include specified majority Latino census tracts.

ACTION: 

Continue pilot of special purpose credit programs (SPCPs) to help support the expansion 

of homeownership and availability of down payment assistance (DPA), while exploring ways 

to reduce SPCP participation hurdles for lenders 

OUTCOME: 

We will evaluate the SPCP program against the hypothesis that down payment and closing 

cost assistance, combined with other supporting counseling and sustainability assistance 

where possible, can effectively and safely be used to improve access to mortgage finance 

and homeownership. 

Equitable Housing Finance Plan 2023 | 2 3
STEP 1

Housing Preparation

STEP 2

Renting or Buying

STEP 3

Move In and Maintain

Equitable Housing Finance Plan 2023 | 2 4

Fannie Mae will evaluate options available to reduce up-front security deposit costs 

and the effectiveness of those options. Security deposits are a major factor in a 

renter’s ability to obtain a rental unit, and the inability to afford a security deposit 

can have multiple ripple effects on housing stability over time. The initial pilot is 

expected to test how removing security deposit requirements affect renter stability, 

behavior, and retention, and will focus on affordable rental properties within our loan 

portfolio, especially those that serve Black and Latino communities. Outcomes will be 

contingent on successful development of a viable pilot program.

2023 TARGETS AND OUTCOMES:

Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4

Develop security 

deposit pilot program.

Launch security deposit 

pilot program.

Monitor and track progress,

adjusting as necessary.

ACTION: 

Pilot options to defray and/or decrease the cost of renter security deposits to help 

Black and Latino renters qualify for quality rental housing and increase savings

OUTCOME: 

This action will seek to eliminate upfront security deposit costs for renters 

in properties in the pilot. We will 

evaluate the data against the established 

hypotheses throughout the duration of 

the pilot to determine effectiveness and 

potential next steps. 
STEP 1

Housing Preparation

STEP 2

Renting or Buying

STEP 3

Move In and Maintain

Equitable Housing Finance Plan 2023 | 2 5

While most Black and Latino renters express a desire to own a home, many also 

cite their lack of familiarity with the homebuying and mortgage process as a barrier 

to taking the first steps toward homeownership. Fannie Mae consumer research 

suggests that this familiarity gap holds consumers back. This gap is pronounced 

among Black and Latino consumers, more than half of whom state they are not 

sure how to start the process. Many of these consumers perceive the barriers as 

insurmountable, even when they can be overcome. For instance, 58% understood 

that a down payment of over 20% is required, even though first-time homebuyer 

mortgages are readily available with far lower down payment requirements. We 

believe Fannie Mae is well-positioned to help these consumers get the facts: 70% of 

Black and Latino consumers we surveyed would prefer to receive information from 

a company such as Fannie Mae. Expanding awareness of key topics to help people 

prepare to buy a home, and keep it, is a focal point for Fannie Mae’s housing equity 

strategy. This action has two primary objectives: preparing more consumers for 

homeownership, and helping people keep their homes. 

We will accomplish this by:

1

Closing the knowledge gap and ensuring that accurate 

information on Fannie Mae products, policies, and 

programs reach Black and Latino people to increase 

confidence in taking the next step.

2 Launching new HomeView® content to increase 

the number of people enrolled in HomeView. 

3

Relaunching Fannie Mae’s Here to Help program 

to equip new and existing homeowners with 

actionable information in the event of hardship.

ACTION: 

Close the knowledge gap for Black and Latino audiences with targeted 

outreach and expanded homeownership curriculum to create more 

confident consumers along the housing journey

It provides a pretty 

clear overview of the 

process and makes you 

think about where you 

need to be when you 

decide to start the 

purchase. Realtors 

should recommend 

taking this course as 

soon as you contact 

them, and the process 

would be quite easy 

and less traumatic.”

— HomeView participant

Equitable Housing Finance Plan 2023 | 2 5
STEP 1

Housing Preparation

STEP 2

Renting or Buying

STEP 3

Move In and Maintain

Equitable Housing Finance Plan 2023 | 2 6

2023 TARGETS AND OUTCOMES:

Enhance and expand educational 

content aligned to key known barriers

Q2

Launch refreshed hardship 

content for both commercial 

and consumer audiences.

Q3

Introduce and test new 

HomeView early education 

curriculum given critical nature 

of early financial education to 

homeownership success. 

Q4

Publish Latino segment 

playbook, a compilation of 

consumer research and best 

practices for reaching and 

engaging with Latino consumers. 

Continue proactive marketing 

outreach to key audiences

Q1

Expand affirmative 

marketing outreach 

through national and 

local channels. 

Q2

Launch HomeView 

outreach to Black and 

Latino consumers. 

Q3

Relaunch Here to Help 

program targeting those 

in need with focus in key 

geographic areas.

Monitor channels and content for 

reach and efficiency and set targets 

Q2

Q3

Establish demographic reporting 

baseline for HomeView learner 

audience and set targets by the 

end of the third quarter. 

Q4

Deliver 150,000 certifications via 

HomeView course by end of year. 

Q4

Reach and engage 17 million 

people of color, women, and/

or people with a disability by 

year-end and achieve 425,000 

visits to FannieMae.com.

Q4

Evaluate performance of new 

HomeView early education 

course and set 2024 targets.

OUTCOME: 

Fannie Mae will meaningfully expand the number of consumers who 

engage with and learn from Fannie Mae-branded affordable and firsttime homebuyer mortgage information and who enroll in HomeView 

early education curriculum.

This course was my best guide. 

It offered downloadable resources 

that I use to stay on the right track, 

keep organized, and make the process 

simpler and more manageable. 

I am ready!”

— HomeView participant
STEP 1

Housing Preparation

STEP 2

Renting or Buying

STEP 3

Move In and Maintain

Equitable Housing Finance Plan 2023 | 2 7

In 2022, Fannie Mae began disclosing a 

Social Criteria Share and Social Density 

Score for issued mortgage-backed 

securities (MBS) pools — what we call 

Social Index scores. These two measures 

indicate the degree of concentration of 

loans within each pool featuring criteria 

identified for focus within our affordable 

housing mission, racial equity strategy, 

and Duty to Serve Plan. Pools featuring 

high Social Index scores could realize 

value reflecting investor preference for 

mortgages to underserved borrowers 

and communities, as well as value tied 

to specific performance expectations for 

the pooled loans. In 2023, we plan to test 

ways to use additional value, if gained, 

from the issuance and sale of high Social 

Index pools to further improve access to 

credit and reduce costs for borrowers. 

We also plan to promote further market 

adoption of the Social Index by both 

lenders and investors and enhance 

insights provided with MBS disclosures, 

while preserving the liquidity and 

dependability of the TBA market.

NEW ACTION: 

Explore the potential to derive value from Social Index-related mortgage-backed securities 

issuance to promote access to credit and borrowing cost reduction for underserved borrowers
STEP 1

Housing Preparation

STEP 2

Renting or Buying

STEP 3

Move In and Maintain

Equitable Housing Finance Plan 2023 | 2 8

2023 TARGETS AND OUTCOMES:

Test mechanisms to deploy 

incremental value created to 

further mission results

Q1

Evaluate mechanisms and 

policies to use any 

incremental revenue from 

Social Index pools to support 

loan programs that benefit 

underserved borrowers.

Q2

Evaluate methods to 

encourage cash lenders to 

deliver loans that meet Social 

Index criteria. 

Q2

Deploy a loan scoring utility to 

empower lenders to create MBS 

pools with advance certainty 

of their Social Index scores. 

(Lenders who issue their own 

MBS will be in a position to 

capture their own pay-ups 

as an added incentive to 

originate and underwrite 

more of these loans.)

Promote market adoption of the 

Social Index 

Q1

Continue to educate investors 

and lenders on the design and 

features of Social Index MBS 

disclosures.

Q1

Target programmatic issuance 

of high Social Index pools to 

establish an MBS performance 

benchmark; achieve sustained 

auction participation from the 

dealer community.

Q4

Encourage market pricing/

modeling services to evaluate 

high Social Index pools 

appropriately to improve the 

market’s valuation of these 

pools. (This could have the 

added benefit of supporting 

liquidity for depository 

holdings of Community 

Reinvestment Act pools, which 

often feature loans with high 

Social Index scores.)

Enhance insights provided with 

MBS disclosures and incorporate 

feedback from investors and other 

market participants

Q1

Evaluate potential aggregatelevel disclosures that provide 

insights into the characteristics 

of the loans underlying the 

Social Index pools.

Q4

Evaluate potential incremental 

disclosures that could help 

investors assess borrower 

benefits.

OUTCOME: 

Lenders will have a clear mechanism for realizing value for originating and underwriting 

loans with high Social Index scores, and investors will be able to determine how purchases 

of high Social Index-scored MBS provide benefits to underserved borrowers. 
STEP 1

Housing Preparation

STEP 2

Renting or Buying

STEP 3

Move In and Maintain

Equitable Housing Finance Plan 2023 | 2 9

Fannie Mae believes there is a way to modernize how homes are appraised. Fannie 

Mae’s 2022 Appraisal Bias Work Plan incorporates data analysis, technology, quality 

control, industry and consumer advocate engagements, and policy to reduce the 

potential for appraisal bias. 

2023 TARGETS AND OUTCOMES:

Data Analysis/Technology/Quality Control (QC): We will continue to analyze 

appraisal bias patterns using a combination of subjective terminology and 

misvaluation indicators, and monitor for misvaluation through loan-level review that 

evaluates undervaluation and overvaluation data trends. We will apply lessons learned 

to our QC process for evaluating the quality of appraisals. In addition, we will continue 

the research and development of appraisal text scanning automation in 2023.

Industry and Consumer Advocate Engagement: We will convene lender 

representatives in appraisal management roles to share information about appraisal 

bias challenges and potential solutions, raising awareness of research results, new 

products, and technology enhancements at a minimum of 12 forums throughout 2023. 

We will also continue our active engagement with consumer advocates regarding best 

practices and potential improvements to our systems and processes.

Policy: In 2023, we will focus on building out traditional appraisal alternatives and 

understanding how they impact Black and Latino consumers from a bias, efficiency, 

and cost perspective.

Q1

Design an approach to researching the shift from traditional 

appraisals to alternative valuation products.

Q2 Develop a reporting action plan, based upon research results.

Q3

Analyze and monitor the shifting of valuation products and 

impact to Black and Latino consumer groups.

Q4

Based on lessons learned, and working with FHFA, evaluate 

the potential for adjusting eligibility criteria to better serve 

Black and Latino consumers.

ACTION: 

Valuation modernization to support an equitable appraisal process for 

Black and Latino households and communities of color

OUTCOME: 

Reduced friction for Black and Latino consumers, contributing to a more equitable homebuying process 

that can help increase housing stability for Black and Latino consumers.

Equitable Housing Finance Plan 2023 | 2 9
STEP 1

Housing Preparation

STEP 2

Renting or Buying

STEP 3

Move In and Maintain

Equitable Housing Finance Plan 2023 | 3 0

The Appraiser Diversity Initiative (ADI) is a Fannie Mae-led initiative to create greater 

diversity within the housing appraisal industry. Through ADI, we seek to grow the 

number of diverse appraisers, including Black and Latino people. We do this by 

building awareness of the appraisal field as a potential career path for candidates 

from historically underrepresented groups and providing scholarships for selected 

individuals to participate in courses offered by the Appraisal Institute. These courses 

are designed to prepare candidates to begin working as an appraiser trainee and 

meet the educational requirements to attain a trainee license through their local state 

board. In addition to the coursework, the ADI helps connect program participants to 

industry sponsors and promotes the need to diversify the candidate pipeline for the 

housing appraisal industry.

2023 TARGETS AND OUTCOMES:

In 2023, Fannie Mae will focus on expanding the number of Black and Latino participants in ADI. We will:

Research, develop, 

and implement an 

action plan that engages 

Latino communities 

in addition to Black 

communities.

Provide 200 new appraiser 

trade profession scholarships 

(qualifying education 

hours/practical application 

experience hours).

Host at least eight events to 

recruit diverse individuals to 

the ADI program in a variety of 

outreach opportunities (i.e., 

workshops, university/college 

fairs, and industry events).

Industry sponsorships: 

Secure at least five new sponsors 

from industry stakeholders (i.e., 

lenders, appraisal firms, appraiser 

management companies, and 

advocacy groups).

ACTION: 

Expand Appraiser Diversity Initiative to attract new entrants to the 

residential appraisal field by reducing barriers to entry (such as education, 

training, and experience requirements), and fostering diversity, which we 

believe will help to reduce the instances of appraisal bias for Black and 

Latino communities

The Appraiser Diversity 

Initiative was a gamechanger. I got to meet 

people who would 

mentor me. I want 

to make sure that 

people from diverse 

backgrounds know that 

this industry exists.” 

— 2022 ADI participant

OUTCOME: 

ADI will award 200 

scholarships through 

outreach events in an effort to 

improve the demographics 

of the appraiser workforce. 
STEP 1

Housing Preparation

STEP 2

Renting or Buying

STEP 3

Move In and Maintain

Equitable Housing Finance Plan 2023 | 3 1

Fannie Mae continues to identify opportunities to alleviate the high relative 

closing-cost burden for low-income borrowers, a disproportionate number 

of whom are Black and/or Latino. We are engaging with industry partners and 

providers to implement solutions aimed at reducing title insurance and/or escrow 

costs. In 2022, we conducted and published further research on closing costs as 

a driver of total housing costs, announced a 3% closing cost concession for lowand moderate-income purchasers of Fannie Mae real estate owned (REO) that 

has exceeded more than $1 million, updated the Selling Guide to allow lenders 

the option to utilize an attorney opinion letter in lieu of traditional title insurance, 

and explored options to reduce title insurance costs to borrowers. 

2 0 2 3 TA R G E TS A N D O U TCO M E S : 

In 2023, Fannie Mae will develop the terms for a pilot to lower closing costs 

in targeted geographies, benefiting low- and moderate-income and historically 

underserved borrowers. 

Q1

Q2

Finalize project definition, design, and development activities.

Q3

Draft a pilot program to lower borrower closing costs 

in specific geographies.

Q4

Collect data and feedback to determine success metrics 

and potential refinements.

ACTION:

Reduce closing costs for consumers to help remove the barrier of lack of sufficient funds 

for closing (down payment plus closing costs)

When you have your own 

home, a piece of property 

you own, you have the 

American dream.” 

— Potential homebuyer

OUTCOME: 

Success will be evaluated based on the number of borrowers who benefit 

and the estimated average savings for each of these borrowers.
STEP 1

Housing Preparation

STEP 2

Renting or Buying

STEP 3

Move In and Maintain

Equitable Housing Finance Plan 2023 | 3 2

Using third-party research and 

focus group sessions with market 

participants, Fannie Mae will identify 

unnecessary or artificial barriers 

faced by multifamily borrowers from 

historically underserved groups. We 

will implement a plan to address the 

identified contributing factors to these 

barriers, including working directly 

with lenders to remove these barriers 

and increase participation in our 

Multifamily business by historically 

underserved groups. 

NEW ACTION: 

Pilot a multifamily borrower diversity program to reduce barriers for property owners from 

historically underserved groups 

2023 TARGETS AND OUTCOMES:

Fannie Mae will begin by conducting in-depth research on the real or perceived 

barriers for property owners, then identify ways in which our own processes or 

procedures can change to remove those barriers.

Q1 Summarize findings of third-party research and survey information.

Q2 Create a plan to address necessary updates to processes and 

procedures to help reduce identified barriers to underserved borrowers.

Q3

Q4

Execute plan actions.

OUTCOME: 

We will grow the representation of borrowers and provide greater access to capital for 

historically underserved groups. We will also create a mechanism to establish a baseline 

that will help us measure our future success on this action.
STEP 1

Housing Preparation

STEP 2

Renting or Buying

STEP 3

Move In and Maintain

Equitable Housing Finance Plan 2023 | 3 3

Expand DUS lender diversity by 

cultivating relationships between 

lenders and diverse correspondents 

to improve access to capital in 

historically underserved markets. 

Fannie Mae will encourage these 

business relationships to facilitate 

local-market investment by and for 

historically underserved communities. 

NEW ACTION:

Launch a Delegated Underwriting and Servicing (DUS®) correspondent diversity program

2023 TARGETS AND OUTCOMES:

Q1

Baseline the current level of minority-owned correspondent 

relationships currently in place among DUS lenders. 

Q2

Develop and deploy a plan to facilitate the expansion 

of minority-owned correspondent relationships through 

networking events and other means.

Q3

Q4

Monitor and track progress, adjusting as necessary. 

OUTCOME: 

We will encourage the growth of partnerships between DUS lender partners 

and correspondent firms serving historically underserved communities. 
STEP 1

Housing Preparation

STEP 2

Renting or Buying

STEP 3

Move In and Maintain

Equitable Housing Finance Plan 2023 | 3 4

Sponsor-Dedicated Workforce 

(SDW) will offer a private financing 

mechanism, utilizing pricing and 

underwriting incentives, to create and 

preserve workforce housing, and is 

designed to increase the availability 

of affordable housing supply. This 

initiative is designed for conventional 

multifamily borrowers. A borrower 

elects to restrict the rents on a 

minimum of 20% of the units at levels 

affordable to tenants earning up to 

80% of Area Median Income (AMI), 

and up to 100% AMI and 120% AMI in 

cost- and very-cost burdened markets, 

respectively, as defined by FHFA. These 

rent restrictions maintain workforce 

affordability for the life of the loan.

NEW ACTION: 

Develop and launch Sponsor-Dedicated Workforce (SDW), a Fannie Mae Multifamily loan 

incentive initiative for use by multifamily borrowers and lenders

2023 TARGETS AND OUTCOMES:

Pending regulatory review and approval, Fannie Mae will launch SDW in the 

second quarter of 2023. 

Q1

Q2

Development of SDW and pursuit of regulatory approval.

Q2

Anticipated external launch with supporting marketing 

campaign and program materials.

Q3 Increase lender and borrower outreach and education.

Q4

Continue external education and market outreach; review 

for enhancements; monitor adoption; set strategy for 2024.

OUTCOME: 

SDW will preserve and, in some deal instances, create affordable supply of multifamily 

workforce housing, primarily for renters within 80% – 120% of AMI, for the life of the 

Fannie Mae financing on the property. Property location for SDW transactions will be 

tracked against demographic data to map the availability of this affordable supply for 

Black and Latino households. We will use this data to inform enhancements to marketing 

and initiative terms as needed.
STEP 1

Housing Preparation

STEP 2

Renting or Buying

STEP 3

Move In and Maintain

Equitable Housing Finance Plan 2023 | 3 5

Sponsor-Initiated Affordability (SIA) 

offers a private financing mechanism, 

utilizing pricing and underwriting 

incentives, to create and preserve 

affordable housing, and is designed to 

increase the availability of affordable 

housing supply. This initiative is used 

by Multifamily Affordable Housing 

(MAH) and Social Impact borrowers. A 

borrower elects to restrict a minimum 

of 20% of the units as affordable to 

renters at 80% AMI or less, as adjusted 

for family size, and rent cannot exceed 

30% of adjusted AMI for unit size. These 

rent and income restrictions maintain 

affordability for the life of the loan and 

address the lack of affordable supply of 

rental housing.

NEW ACTION: 

Continue to advance Sponsor-Initiated Affordability (SIA), a Fannie Mae Multifamily loan 

incentive initiative for use by multifamily borrowers and lenders

2023 TARGETS AND OUTCOMES:

SIA is an active initiative, launched in 2021. In 2023, the focus will be on expanding 

adoption among properties with expiring affordability agreements to preserve 

affordability, and on marketing it to Environmental, Social, and Governance 

(ESG)/Social Impact affordable housing funds.

Q1 Provide internal and external SIA refresher trainings and updated 

2023 documentation online. 

Q2

Monitor SIA adoption and consider suggestions for enhancements, 

identify priority deals, and refresh deal use cases to reflect any wins 

that emphasize properties in communities with a plurality of Black 

and Latino households.

Q3 Enhance SIA, as necessary, and identify priority deals.

Q4

Continue to aggregate and prioritize enhancements, monitor 

adoption, and set strategy for 2024.

OUTCOME:

SIA will preserve and, in some deal instances, create affordable supply of multifamily 

workforce housing, primarily within the 80% AMI and below renter bands for the life of 

the Fannie Mae financing on the property. Property location for SIA transactions will be 

tracked against demographic data to map the availability of this affordable supply for 

Black and Latino households. We will use this data to inform enhancements to marketing 

and initiative terms as needed.
STEP 1

Housing Preparation

STEP 2

Renting or Buying

STEP 3

Move In and Maintain

Equitable Housing Finance Plan 2023 | 3 6

ReBUILD Metro will leverage a 

community-driven redevelopment 

model to work with community 

leaders in Baltimore’s Johnston 

Square neighborhood (a historically 

Black neighborhood) to renovate 

abandoned or dilapidated properties, 

convert vacant lots into affordable 

rental housing units, prepare Black 

first-time homebuyers to purchase 

redeveloped properties, and cultivate 

programs to help long-time residents 

make major home repairs. As with 

each of Fannie Mae’s 2022 Innovation 

Challenge projects, the goal is to 

support local approaches to addressing 

housing inequities and the potential 

to scale that approach, where 

applicable, to other communities.

NEW ACTION: 

Support the revitalization and expansion of housing opportunities in a historically Black 

neighborhood through rehabilitation and infill housing (Innovation Challenge)

2023 TARGETS AND OUTCOMES:

In 2023, ReBUILD Metro will engage with Johnston Square residents and 

community leaders for feedback on redevelopment designs, establish groundwork 

for implementation of its Path to Own Program (financial education and coaching 

program), and produce completed designs for stabilization of vacant/abandoned 

properties and development of affordable rental housing units. To help preserve 

the affordability of new units, they will use a 40-year deed restriction. We will track 

the progress of renovations for vacant/abandoned properties, progress on the 

development of new affordable rental housing units, and restructuring of the Path 

to Own Program for implementation in Johnston Square.

Q1

Continue community engagement (monthly community meetings, 

citywide meetings, events, etc.) and initiate process to support and adapt 

Path to Own Program to accommodate Johnston Square neighborhood. 

Q2

Publish study on Baltimore housing market and vacancy data 

and present findings to community leaders from neighborhoods 

throughout Baltimore. 

Q3 Complete stabilization designs that can be replicated across properties 

to simplify property renovations.

Q4

Complete designs for about 100 affordable rental housing units and 

retail/community space. Stabilize 25 dilapidated homes to reduce 

hazards and prevent further deterioration.

OUTCOME: 

By the end of 2023, ReBUILD Metro will have completed community engagement to 

obtain resident input/feedback on redevelopment designs/amenities, initiated the 

stabilization (interior demo, roofing, and framing) of 25 vacant/abandoned homes, and 

produced completed designs for the development of affordable rental housing units, 

retail/community space, and a 4-acre community park. Achieving these outcomes will 

enable ReBUILD Metro to initiate the construction for approximately 100 new units of 

affordable rental housing for low-income residents, complete major home repairs for 10 

long-time Johnston Square residents, and implement a financial education/coaching 

program to help prepare 50 Black residents to become first-time homebuyers (these 

activities are expected to be completed by the end of 2024). 
STEP 1

Housing Preparation

STEP 2

Renting or Buying

STEP 3

Move In and Maintain

Equitable Housing Finance Plan 2023 | 3 7

The Last Mile Network project, led 

by Module and in partnership with 

Enterprise Community Partners, will 

demonstrate feasibility of locally 

owned modular construction facilities 

to complete energy-efficient and 

sustainable affordable housing in 

urban communities of color. They 

will conduct outreach and network 

development, conduct feasibility 

studies to determine potential market 

size and employment impact of 

families located in urban settings; 

and develop a modular development 

playbook for Black developers and 

housing providers in Richmond, VA, 

and Prince George’s County, MD. 

As with each of Fannie Mae’s 2022 

Innovation Challenge projects, the 

goal is to support local approaches to 

addressing housing inequities and the 

potential to scale that approach, where 

applicable, to other communities.

NEW ACTION: 

Support the creation of locally owned modular construction facilities in urban communities 

of color (Innovation Challenge)

2023 TARGETS AND OUTCOMES:

Actions in 2023 include creating the framework, building place-based 

relationships/networks, and laying the groundwork to expand the micro-factory 

concept in each location. We will track Module’s outreach to Black-owned and/

or Black-led developer organizations and the number of Black developers and 

housing providers trained in modular construction practices and principles.

Q1

Q2

Commence local engagement and network development in Richmond 

and Prince George’s County. Begin drafting modular development training 

materials and begin the feasibility study for Prince George’s County.

Q3

Conduct training for developers on how to build using modular 

construction. Continue stakeholder engagement and education in 

Richmond and begin the feasibility study. Develop a document analyzing 

models of local ownership and entrepreneurship for the network facilities. 

Q4 Analyze the local ownership and entrepreneurship landscape in Prince 

George’s County and complete the feasibility study.

OUTCOME: 

By the end of 2023, Module and Enterprise Community Partners will have established 

a network of community and workforce development leaders, Black developers, and 

affordable housing providers interested in partnering in the micro-facility work in 

Richmond and Prince George’s County. They will also deliver the feasibility study to 

stakeholders in Prince George’s County and finalize the feasibility study for Richmond, 

which will be delivered in early 2024. Achieving these outcomes will position Module to 

execute on the findings of the feasibility studies, including opening a new micro-facility 

that employs local residents and produces affordable housing units in each market by 

early 2025.
STEP 1

Housing Preparation

STEP 2

Renting or Buying

STEP 3

Move In and Maintain

Equitable Housing Finance Plan 2023 | 3 8

Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity 

(TC Habitat) of Minnesota, in 

partnership with the Minnesota 

Homeownership Center, will develop 

and deploy an identity-based special 

purpose credit program (SPCP) to 

provide down payment assistance to 

eligible Black homebuyers in the Twin 

Cities seven-county metro region 

to increase Black homeownership 

rates. Participant eligibility is based 

on the race and country of birth 

of the potential homebuyer. As of 

2021, the Black homeownership 

rate in the Twin Cities metro region 

was 20% compared to the white 

homeownership rate of 70%.4 As 

with each of FannieMae’s 2022 

Innovation Challenge projects, the 

goal is to support local approaches 

to addressing housing inequities 

and the potential to scale that 

approach, where applicable, to 

other communities. Fannie Mae 

will evaluate this action with an eye 

toward developing effective methods 

to bring secondary mortgage market 

liquidity to third-party SPCPs.

4 Urban Institute.

NEW ACTION: 

Support the development of a locally controlled special purpose credit program to increase 

Black homeownership (Innovation Challenge)

2023 TARGETS AND OUTCOMES:

A key objective in 2023 will be to learn from TC Habitat as they design the 

SPCP through a community-based co-creation design process that can be 

deployed at scale by local/regional financial institutions. Fannie Mae will 

track TC Habitat’s progress for development of SPCP, outreach to potential 

homebuyers, onboarding of lending institutions to deploy SPCP, and the 

number of consumers supported under the SPCP. We will also support 

TC Habitat as they perform the following activities:

Q1

Perform evaluation of existing TC Habitat SPCP activities to 

inform regional SPCP product guidelines, and outline plan 

for consumer engagement.

Q2 Collect and assess feedback on the product prototype from community 

participants/industry partners and utilize insights to refine product.

Q3 Define guidelines for product origination, servicing, reporting, and 

outline a plan to raise $10.7M in capital funding for product.

Q4 Convene local Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) 

partners to finalize lender outreach plan and prepare product launch.

OUTCOME: 

By the end of 2023, TC Habitat will have developed a regional SPCP product that provides 

down payment assistance and financial education and coaching to Black homebuyers. 

Achieving this outcome will enable TC Habitat to launch their new product in early 2024. 

By the end of 2024, they expect to support 214 Black homebuyers in the region who will 

receive down payment assistance to purchase a home and/or financial education and 

coaching to help prepare them to become homebuyers.
STEP 1

Housing Preparation

STEP 2

Renting or Buying

STEP 3

Move In and Maintain

Equitable Housing Finance Plan 2023 | 3 9

Future Housing Leaders (FHL) is a free, Fannie Mae-led service that helps companies 

create a more diverse workforce. Through building industry awareness, attracting 

early career diverse talent, providing foundational and professional education, and 

leveraging partnerships, FHL provides companies in the housing industry with a 

pipeline of diverse talent to introduce them to careers in housing. By partnering 

with FHL, housing industry employers have access to a talent network that can help 

companies fulfill their commitments to forging a more diverse and inclusive workforce. 

2023 TARGETS AND OUTCOMES:

Our 2023 goal is to onboard 225 diverse FHL intern participants and 20 new housing 

finance industry employer partners. In 2023, FHL will work to strengthen the quality 

of applicants through focused improvements in professional, foundational, and 

corporate behavior education and a deliberate concentration on college sophomores 

and juniors, which will expand our talent pipeline of qualified, diverse students. 

This approach is a shift from FHL’s focus on industry employer hiring demand and 

is aligned with identified skill gaps that industry employers see with their diverse 

early career new hires. These modifications will be accompanied by unique learning 

journeys, industry certifications, and LinkedIn badges aimed at increasing the 

credibility and recognition of FHL’s talent community. The FHL team is currently 

preparing to test this approach during the summer of 2023. Concurrently, in 2023, 

FHL will continue to support the industry in our previous capacity but will require 

more from industry partners to ensure delivery of diverse students.

Q1

Begin recruiting activity for 2023 summer internships, 

identify skill gaps, and establish learning journeys.

Q2

Finalize 2023 summer program and curriculum; finalize 

employer partners and FHL participants for 2023.

Q3

Summer internships and FHL summer program commences; 

report number of employer partners and diverse FHL 

participants toward 2023 goal.

ACTION: 

Connect diverse (Black and Latino) college students to career 

opportunities in housing and real estate finance via the expansion of 

Fannie Mae’s Future Housing Leaders® program 

The information 

presented was 

extremely beneficial 

to my future career 

development. I always 

knew that connections 

were important in 

business and career 

opportunities, but 

FHL provided me with 

resources to turn 

the skills I learned 

into action.”

— Former FHL intern

OUTCOME: 

Increase the representation of early career Black and Latino hires in the housing industry. 
Equitable Housing Finance Plan 2023 | 4 0

Move In 

and Maintain
STEP 1

Housing Preparation

STEP 2

Renting or Buying

STEP 3

Move In and Maintain

Equitable Housing Finance Plan 2023 | 4 1

Fannie Mae will test adding ongoing education and counseling support to one or 

more SPCP pilots to strengthen borrower housing stability over time. We will also 

continue to identify opportunities to offer mortgage reserve accounts to SPCP lenders, 

and potentially tailor the account to address home maintenance and repairs. Using 

learnings from the initial reserve account pilot, develop a replication and scaling plan 

for a reserve account to support borrower stability post-purchase.

2023 TARGETS AND OUTCOMES:

Fannie Mae will offer post-purchase counseling services to SPCP borrowers in one or 

more of the six primary markets in 2023: Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Detroit, Memphis, 

and Philadelphia. We will also evaluate the potential of offering reserve accounts 

for participants in these SPCPs, including operational considerations, financing 

opportunities to fund the accounts, and potentially alternative program design 

elements tailored to home repair.

Q1 Commence post-purchase counseling on loans that close in first quarter.

Q2

Collect reporting on files closed and percentage of consumers attending 

post-purchase sessions; analyze market conditions and lender feedback 

regarding scalability opportunities for mortgage reserve account.

Q3

Collect reporting on files closed and percentage of consumers attending 

post-purchase sessions; identify potential scaling opportunities for 

mortgage reserve account offering to all SPCP lenders.

Q4

Review reporting for post-purchase counseling files for the calendar 

year; assess findings from mortgage reserve account pilot launch to 

determine scalability of offering, including project cost, match funding 

source, match usage, and post-purchase education requirement.

ACTION: 

Pilot homeownership sustainability services, such as post-purchase counseling and 

mortgage reserve accounts, as a feature of special purpose credit programs (SPCPs) 

to strengthen borrower housing stability over time 

OUTCOME: 

From a consumer perspective, Fannie Mae will monitor how these 

post-purchase services help to strengthen homeowner stability that 

can be reported on over time. From a servicer perspective, Fannie Mae 

will track the number of interested lenders, total cost of the program, 

program design elements, and legal and operational considerations that 

can help to inform how to scale these services.

Equitable Housing Finance Plan 2023 | 4 1
STEP 1

Housing Preparation

STEP 2

Renting or Buying

STEP 3

Move In and Maintain

Equitable Housing Finance Plan 2023 | 4 2

2 0 2 3 TA R G E TS A N D O U TCO M E S : 

Q1

Validate successful execution of Servicing Guide A2-1.01: General 

Servicer Duties and Responsibilities; interview four new servicers each 

quarter to learn about their fair servicing practices; begin building out 

best practices for fair servicing.

Q2

Interview four servicers to learn about their fair servicing practices; 

continue building out best practices for fair servicing; engage with 

consumer advocacy groups to gather and document best practices for 

fair servicing. 

Q3

Interview four servicers to learn about their fair servicing practices; 

aggregate feedback and fair servicing resources to inform servicing 

industry best practices; begin marketing engagement for development 

of fourth-quarter deliverable.

Q4

Interview four servicers to learn about their fair servicing practices; 

create formal best practice and/or resource curriculum to include 

learnings from servicer and consumer advocacy group discussions 

focused on fair servicing to be made available to servicers. 

OUTCOME: 

Full implementation of Servicing Guide announcement SVC-2022-06 (as found in 

Servicing Guide A2-1.01) by servicing industry will take time for servicers to build out 

a data set. The data set may be used to analyze their portfolio to determine if there 

are any disparities in loss mitigation. Additionally, the collection of best practices 

and resources for fair servicing, by Fannie Mae, will be promoted in the industry in 

the fourth quarter. This should lead to greater servicer focus on equitable borrower 

outcomes in 2024 and beyond.

Identify and promote best 

practices for fair servicing 

observed in the mortgage 

servicing industry.

NEW ACTION: 

Promote awareness of fair servicing best practices to address borrower 

loss mitigation disparities
STEP 1

Housing Preparation

STEP 2

Renting or Buying

STEP 3

Move In and Maintain

Equitable Housing Finance Plan 2023 | 4 3

As we continue to support consumers with education and resources that aim 

to address knowledge gaps across the Consumer Housing Journey (that include 

our Here to Help campaigns), we will also continue supporting relationships with 

HUD-approved housing counseling agencies to deliver housing counseling services 

to eligible borrowers and renters needing default/foreclosure/tenant eviction 

prevention, disaster recovery, and/or post-modification counseling services. 

Research demonstrates post-purchase counseling increases the probability that 

a distressed borrower receives a loan modification by 57.5%, delinquent borrowers 

are more likely to receive higher reductions in monthly payments and exhibit 

lower redefault rates after a serious delinquency, and that participation in postpurchase counseling reduces the probability that a borrower will lose their home in 

foreclosure.5,6

2 0 2 3 TA R G E TS A N D O U TCO M E S : 

Q1

Q2

Fannie Mae will finish building and will operationalize the 

new user experience for access to our counseling resources. 

Q3 Test and launch new experience across consumer touchpoints.

Q4

Fannie Mae will deliver 9,000 counseling sessions to renters 

and homeowners in distress, which includes ongoing support.

5 J. Michael Collins and Maximilian D. Schmeiser, “The Effects of Foreclosure Counseling for 

Distressed Homeowners,” Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, vol. 32, no. 1, 2013, 

pp. 83 – 106.

6 Neil Mayer, Peter A. Tatian, Kenneth Temkin, and Charles A. Calhoun, National Foreclosure 

Mitigation Counseling Program Evaluation Final Report Rounds 1 and 2, Washington, DC: 

NeighborWorks America, December 2011.

ACTION: 

Expand counseling services for renters and homeowners facing hardship

OUTCOME: 

Our goal is to increase access to post-purchase counseling, an evidence-based 

approach to reduce redefault among homeowners experiencing distress, particularly 

those from historically underserved groups. We will measure progress through number 

of sessions/calls and assess the reach of counseling to historically underserved groups. 
STEP 1

Housing Preparation

STEP 2

Renting or Buying

STEP 3

Move In and Maintain

Equitable Housing Finance Plan 2023 | 4 4

7 While the measures each community takes to mitigate climate risk will depend on a variety 

of factors (e.g., funding, available resources), we seek to empower communities with data to 

enable them to make a stronger case for change and resources. Access to analytics can help 

disadvantaged communities develop action plans that may help them compete for state or 

federal grants targeted toward climate resiliency.

Providing climate analytics can help communities prepare for the increasing risk 

of climate change. The expectation is that the analytics will inform an approach to 

mitigate the risks to that community. These analytics will use predictive modeling 

to assess the risk of climate-related events (e.g., flooding, wildfire, heat) to the SPCP 

pilot markets of Baltimore and Memphis.7

 This effort aims to work with communities 

that are likely to experience climate-related risks with significant 

Black and Latino populations.

2 0 2 3 TA R G E TS A N D O U TCO M E S : 

In 2023, this initiative will expand on the existing work with the communities 

of Baltimore and Memphis.

Q1 Facilitate discussion with representatives from both communities 

about data provided as well as any data that the respective 

communities might be able to share with Fannie Mae.

Q2 Update, merge, modify, and analyze additional data for 

new insights.

Q3

Facilitate discussions on possible adaptations with the Army 

Corps of Engineers.

Q4

Outline lessons learned from the engagement and identify 

new markets to target for outreach.

ACTION: 

Provide climate analytics to empower communities with data, enabling them to make 

a stronger case for change and resources

OUTCOME: 

We will engage directly with local officials to demonstrate geographic areas of risk, 

along with any overlays in underserved communities.
3Equitable Housing Finance Plan 2023 | 4 5

Fannie Mae 

Considerations 

and Potential 

Constraints
Equitable Housing Finance Plan 2023 | 4 6

Implementation Considerations

Appropriateness of pilot activities. The innovations and actions described in the Plan require Fannie Mae to conduct extensive 

research and pilots. Pilots involve limited scope testing of hypotheses to compare expected results to actual results and thereby 

inform decisions regarding broad market rollout. As pilots are developed, we consider many factors, including legal and regulatory 

requirements, success measures, timelines, and the appropriate market participants with which to partner. At the end of a pilot’s 

lifecycle, we determine whether to stop, continue the pilot to test additional variables, or to deploy the innovation to the broader 

market. Piloting a proposed innovation helps to ensure that the expansion of affordable, sustainable, and healthy housing options 

for consumers follows a safe and sound structure.

Certain pilots Fannie Mae undertakes are disclosed on Fannie Mae’s website, under “Pilot Transparency.”

Seller/servicer adoption and implementation considerations. Successful lender implementation and adoption are dependent 

upon engaging with and gathering input from a diverse set of sellers and servicers (i.e., depositories, mortgage banks, credit 

unions, servicers) and their industry partners (i.e., loan origination systems, point of sale systems, servicing/loss mitigation 

platforms) to test and learn prior to broad rollout. 

Fannie Mae currently leverages our network of lenders, counseling agencies, Housing Finance Agencies, education 

providers, and housing finance industry technology partners to complete research, pilots, and/or staged rollouts 

of proposed policy, product, and/or service changes. Implementation risks include the inability and/or unwillingness 

of seller/servicers to participate in pilots.

Prior to broad rollout, each new product, capability, policy, or service undergoes an internal market-readiness 

assessment from cross-functional stakeholders (i.e., legal, marketing, operations, digital alliances, customer support) 

that review and confirm releases are market-ready from a customer, industry partner, and enterprise perspective.

Activities must be evaluated for possible notice to FHFA as a “new activity” under the updated New Products and 

Activities Rule, and must also be evaluated in regard to, and implemented in compliance with, FHFA requirements 

as Conservator.

Mortgage insurer support considerations. Successful implementation of new charter-compliant initiatives may depend on 

the participation of approved mortgage insurer partners that already insure nearly all of our higher loan-to-value loans (greater 

than 80%) in order to meet our charter requirement.

Approved mortgage insurers have demonstrated their cooperation with us in testing and standardizing innovative guidelines for 

lenders to underwrite, originate, and service loans based upon a relationship built on transparency of data and ideas. However, the 

implementation risk for a number of items in this plan includes the inability and/or unwillingness of mortgage insurers to participate 

in new pilots.

CONSIDERATIONS AND POTENTIAL CONSTRAINTS
Equitable Housing Finance Plan 2023 | 4 7 © 2023 Fannie Mae Equitable Housing Finance Plan | 4 7

Appendix

4
Research Agenda

We rely extensively on both original and publicly available research in the creation 

and execution of this Plan. Our 2023 research agenda is designed to (1) assess 

the impacts of the actions within the Plan, and (2) lay the research groundwork 

for potential future actions to address obstacles across the Consumer Housing 

Journey where Fannie Mae can have the greatest impact. 

Fannie Mae in 2023 will expand on a range of market and consumer research 

initiatives, many conducted in partnership with third parties, to enable evidencebased refinements to future updates to our Equitable Housing Finance Plan.

Black Housing Journey

Fannie Mae will further develop this consumer journey map through literature 

review and primary research to further inform and quantify the magnitude of each 

of the obstacles relative to the Black-white homeownership gap, improve housing 

stability, address the needs of renters, and better understand the capacity needed 

to address the obstacles faced by Black households. As we produce this research, 

Fannie Mae will also work with others in the mortgage industry to obtain additional 

data sources. We intend to share the updated Black Housing Journey research 

with housing market participants.

Heirs’ property

Heirs’ property — the most common term for the informal transfer of a home from 

one generation to the next without clear title — is considered by many researchers 

to be a root cause of wealth inequality in the United States. It leads to a common 

form of “wealth-stripping” for Black and Latino communities and serves as a key 

barrier to housing-generated wealth for historically underserved consumers. Formal 

transfer of a property from one generation to the next is central to intergenerational 

wealth creation, but heirs’ property often gets in the way. Absent a clear title, 

property owners are unable to access traditional mortgage financing to build a 

new home or repair an existing home, access disaster relief funds, or monetize a 

home’s equity. Fannie Mae, along with our primary research partner, are engaging 

in a rigorous analysis of deed and assessment data to produce the foremost 

estimation of the heirs’ property dilemma throughout the United States, synthesize 

best practices employed by local practitioners to resolve heirs’ property disputes, 

and make recommendations for the mortgage industry to support the resolution 

of potential borrowers’ heirs’ property issues. The resulting report will include 

estimates of heirs’ property parcels at the county or parish level. While the report 

will provide insight into the methodology developed, it will not contain a detailed 

description to prevent speculators from using the research as a resource to identify 

potential individual heirs’ properties and target property owners.

APPENDIX

Equitable Housing Finance Plan 2023 | 4 8
Latino consumer research

The Latino consumer marketing research initiative is focused on helping us better 

understand Latino consumers’ attitudes, behaviors, and experiences as they relate 

to housing and media consumption. This research will help create a more informed 

marketing and communication strategy specific to this audience.

Latino Housing Journey

Fannie Mae will produce an initial version of the Latino Housing Journey and 

further develop the Housing Journey map through literature and primary research 

to inform and quantify housing barriers for Latino families. As we produce this 

research, Fannie Mae will also seek to partner with others to obtain additional data 

sources. We intend to share the Latino Housing Journey research with housing 

market participants.

Preferred language access program

Urban Institute projects that between 2020 and 2030, most of the net newly 

formed households will be Black, Latino, and Asian households. Understanding 

the changing demographics of households, languages spoken in the home, 

and language preference are key to understanding how to meet these families 

where they are. In 2023, Fannie Mae will establish an enterprise-wide language 

access strategy and plan. Fannie Mae will research sources of documentation that 

directly or indirectly help homeowners and renters access needed information on 

homebuying, renting, or home retention, as part of a multi-year strategy to ensure 

preferred language options are available wherever possible.

If you’re going to sell and talk to a 

community, I think it’s important to have 

a deep understanding of that community. 

I would love to see a company just ...

take some time to learn more about 

[our community and culture].” 

— Latino consumer

APPENDIX

Equitable Housing Finance Plan 2023 | 4 9
Governance Strategy and Execution

Fannie Mae has developed internal governance and procedures around the tracking 

and progress of our Plan execution. The governance and strategy execution provide 

a unified, centrally administered approach to Plan management within Fannie Mae 

and closely follow existing processes in place for tracking status against enterpriselevel goals and initiatives. Our process includes regular status reporting to senior 

management on the completion of deliverables as set forth in the Plan, with evidence 

to support our progress to date. It also includes the identification of risks or other 

issues that may endanger our ability to fully execute against the deliverable(s) within 

the established timeframe. Activities deemed to be off-track are escalated as necessary 

and require a root cause analysis and a plan of action.

Implementation of actions described in the Plan remains subject to prior notice to 

FHFA, and where appropriate prior approval by FHFA, through existing governance 

requirements (including the New Product rule and the Variances and Terms of 

Business Framework). 

Modifications to the Plan based on market conditions, additional opportunities, 

or other factors follow established internal governance processes to assess and 

recommend changes and remain subject to prior review and approval by FHFA.

In addition to our internal plan governance and commensurate with the FHFA 

Directive, Fannie Mae and FHFA will continue recurring meetings, monitor progress 

data, and review the success measurements throughout the timeframe of the Plan.

Summary of Consultations 

Fannie Mae consultations that helped inform this Update are summarized below. 

These consultations were with nonprofit organizations, community groups, 

consumers, governmental agencies, lenders, technology service partners, and other 

participants in the housing finance industry. Consultations were held during 2021 

and 2022. We will continue to consult relevant stakeholders over the course of the 

Plan’s three-year period. 

These consultations were generally focused on racial equity, housing stability, 

Consumer Housing Journey maps, agreement to support and/or participate in actions 

or research that are components of the Equitable Housing Finance Plan, and/or to 

advance the Fannie Mae mission. These engagements and consultations contributed 

to our development of the actions in this Plan and often included discussion of 

strategies to more effectively and safely and soundly serve very low-, low-, and 

moderate-income borrowers who may also be beneficiaries of the actions in our 

Equitable Housing Finance Plan. 

APPENDIX

Equitable Housing Finance Plan 2023 | 5 0
Equitable Housing Finance Plan 2023 | 5 1

Nonprofit organizations/community groups/coalitions

American Enterprise Institute LISC: Local Initiatives Support Corporation

Asian Real Estate Association of America LISC Memphis

Balance Manufactured Housing Institute

Center for Responsible Lending Minnesota Homeownership Center — Housing Equity

Coalition of HUD-Approved Intermediaries Money Management International

Convergence Columbus Inc. National Association of Home Builders

Convergence Memphis Inc. National Association of Local Housing Finance Agencies

Credit Advisors Foundation National Association of REALTORS®

Credit.org National Community Reinvestment Coalition

Florida Housing Coalition Center for Racial Equity National Fair Housing Alliance

Florida Minority Community Reinvestment Coalition National Foundation for Credit Counseling

HomeFree-USA National Multifamily Housing Council

Homeownership Council of America New York Mortgage Coalition

Homeownership Preservation Foundation Oweesta Corp. 

Housing Partnership Network Prosperity Now

Junior Achievement UnidosUS

 Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights

Technology service providers/fintech

Accurate Group Jetty

Amrock MeridianLink

Black Knight Mueller

Blend Optimal Blue

Clarifire Radian

Clear Capital Rent Dynamics

Docutech Rocket Mortgage

DXC Sagent

Equifax Mortgage Solutions SharperLending

Esusu Simple Nexus

Fiserv Stewart

ICE Mortgage Technology Solidifi

IndiSoft LLC True Footage

APPENDIX
Equitable Housing Finance Plan 2023 | 5 2

Governmental agencies

Colorado Housing and Finance Authority State of New York Mortgage Agency (SONYMA)

Illinois Housing Development Authority U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

Massachusetts Housing Finance Agency Virginia Housing Development Authority

Office of Comptroller of the Currency (Project REACh) West Virginia Housing Development Fund

Ohio Housing Finance Agency

Additional relevant consultations

Appraisal Institute National Consumer Law Center

Black Homeownership Collaborative National Council of State Housing Agencies

Fannie Mae Affordable Housing Advisory Council National Housing Conference

Mortgage Bankers Association National Urban League

National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals Partnership for Equitable and Resilient Communities (PERC)

National Association of Real Estate Brokers Urban Institute

Other industry participants

Consumer Data Industry Association Finastra 

Credit Karma M&T Bank

Equifax TransUnion 

Experian VantageScore 

Fair Isaac Walker & Dunlop

APPENDIX
Summary of Plan Actions

This chart contains a summary of each action we are pursuing as part 

of our Equitable Housing Finance Plan in 2023. Actions with a 2023 debut 

year are newly added to the Plan.

Housing Preparation

2022

PILOT

Pilot rental payment reporting across the multifamily industry to help 

Black and Latino renters with no credit score establish a credit history 

and help those with low credit scores to increase them

2023 Support financial capabilities coaching to build credit and savings in 

targeted markets (LISC)

Support the implementation of a positive rent reporting program for 

Black renters to help them establish and/or improve credit using on-site 

financial coaching programs at rental properties to enable Black renters 

to establish or improve their credit history (Innovation Challenge)

Support the expansion of a comprehensive financial coaching and 

HUD-approved counseling and planning for development of affordable 

housing in rural Virginia (Innovation Challenge)

Renting or Buying

2022

Expand access to credit for first-time homebuyers through an 

automated underwriting enhancement that considers a borrower’s 

positive rent payment history as part of the credit risk assessment

PILOT

Continue pilot of special purpose credit programs (SPCPs) to help 

support the expansion of homeownership and availability of down 

payment assistance (DPA), while exploring ways to reduce SPCP 

participation hurdles for lenders

PILOT

Pilot options to defray and/or decrease the cost of renter security 

deposits to help Black and Latino renters qualify for quality rental 

housing and increase savings

Close the knowledge gap for Black and Latino audiences with targeted 

outreach and expanded homeownership curriculum to create more 

confident consumers along housing journey

APPENDIX

Equitable Housing Finance Plan 2023 | 5 3
PILOT Valuation modernization to support an equitable appraisal process for 

Black and Latino households and communities of color

Expand Appraiser Diversity Initiative to attract new entrants to the 

residential appraisal field by reducing barriers to entry (such as 

education, training, and experience requirements), and fostering 

diversity, which we believe will help to reduce the instances of appraisal 

bias for Black and Latino communities

PILOT Reduce closing costs for consumers to help remove the barrier of lack of 

sufficient funds for closing (down payment plus closing costs)

Expand Future Housing Leaders® (FHL) to increase the representation 

of Black and Latino people in the housing industry to improve access to 

economic opportunities while creating an industry that better reflects 

the diversity of the nation

2023 Expand access for credit-invisible borrowers through automated 

underwriting enhancements to support Black and Latino consumers

Leverage the value derived from Social Index-related mortgage-backed 

securities issuance to promote access to credit and borrowing cost 

reduction for underserved borrowers

Pilot a multifamily borrower diversity program to reduce barriers for 

property owners from historically underserved groups

Launch a Delegated Underwriter and Servicer (DUS®) correspondent 

diversity program

Develop and launch Sponsor-Dedicated Workforce (SDW), a Fannie 

Mae Multifamily loan incentive initiative for use by multifamily 

borrowers and lenders

Continue to advance Sponsor-Initiated Affordability (SIA), a Fannie 

Mae Multifamily loan incentive initiative for use by multifamily 

borrowers and lenders

Support the revitalization and expansion of housing opportunities in a 

historically Black neighborhood through rehabilitation and infill housing 

(Innovation Challenge)

Support the creation of locally owned modular construction facilities in 

urban communities of color (Innovation Challenge)

Support the development of a locally controlled special purpose credit 

program to increase Black homeownership (Innovation Challenge)

APPENDIX

Equitable Housing Finance Plan 2023 | 5 4
Move In and Maintain

2022 Expand counseling services for renters and homeowners facing hardship

PILOT

Pilot homeownership sustainability services, such as post-purchase 

counseling and mortgage reserve accounts, as a feature of special 

purpose credit programs (SPCPs) to strengthen borrower housing 

stability over time

Provide climate analytics to empower communities with data, enabling 

them to make a stronger case for change and resources

2023 Increase awareness of fair servicing best practices to address borrower 

loss mitigation disparities

APPENDIX

Equitable Housing Finance Plan 2023 | 5 5
Summary of Plan Changes from 2022 to 2023

Below is a list of the 17 actions in 2022, as titled in the original Equitable Housing Finance Plan, accompanied by the material 

changes made to that plan’s description, problem statement, milestones, or outcomes as articulated in this 2023 Update. This 

list should be viewed in conjunction with the 2022 Equitable Housing Finance Performance Report, which includes narrative 

descriptions of how our plan actions evolved and progressed in 2022, and which is incorporated by reference. Unless specifically 

noted, the populations these actions seek to benefit in 2023 were expanded to include Latino consumers, wherever applicable.

Build and Launch Fannie Mae 

First-Time Homeownership 

Education Curriculum that aims 

to provide consumers with 

education on the full spectrum 

of the homebuying process

Close the knowledge gap for 

Black and Latino audiences 

with targeted outreach and 

expanded homeownership 

curriculum to create more 

confident consumers along 

housing journey

The ambition and scope of this action 

has been expanded to address the need 

for trusted, independent sources of 

information to help consumers get and 

keep their home. In 2023, this action will 

focus on homeowner and renter stability 

and on “closing the knowledge gap” 

around mortgage eligibility, Fannie Mae 

products and policies, and programs 

to help Black and Latino people take 

affirmative steps toward homeownership.

Execute SPCP Pilots to help 

support the expansion of 

homeownership eligibility and 

availability of down payment 

assistance (DPA), while 

exploring ways to reduce SPCP 

participation hurdles for lenders

Execute SPCP Pilot to 

support the reduction of 

borrower closing costs 

for Black homebuyers via 

appraisal products, appraisal 

reimbursements, and/or 

title products

Continue pilot of special 

purpose credit programs 

(SPCPs) to help support the 

expansion of homeownership 

and availability of down 

payment assistance (DPA), while 

exploring ways to reduce SPCP 

participation hurdles for lenders 

These two 2022 actions relating to SPCP 

loan initiatives were combined in 2023, 

as both actions entail features at loan 

origination to reduce costs. SPCP-specific 

education/counseling and mortgage 

reserve account initiative (actions 13 and 

14 in the original plan) remain the focus 

of a separate but related consolidated 

action in 2023.

APPENDIX

Equitable Housing Finance Plan 2023 | 5 6
Equitable Housing Finance Plan 2023 | 5 7

2 0 2 2 ACT I O N 2 0 2 3 ACT I O N SUMMARY OF CHANGES

Expand Eligibility and 

Access for credit-invisible 

borrowers through automated 

underwriting enhancement 

and positive rental data 

implementation to support 

the expansion of eligibility 

for Black consumers

Two actions

• Expand access for creditinvisible borrowers through 

automated underwriting 

enhancements to support 

Black and Latino consumers 

• Expand access to credit 

for first-time homebuyers 

through an automated 

underwriting enhancement 

that considers a borrower’s 

positive rent payment 

history as part of the credit 

risk assessment

In 2023, Fannie Mae divided this action 

into two separate actions to better focus 

efforts on two distinct consumer barriers: 

credit invisibility and thin credit. 

The first is focused on serving creditinvisible borrowers through the 

introduction of a borrower’s monthly 

cash flow information over a 12-month 

period to potentially enhance credit 

risk assessment for borrowers without 

a credit score. 

The second is focused on serving 

borrowers with thin credit histories 

and expanding adoption and usage 

of the positive rent payment history 

enhancement in Desktop Underwriter by 

further driving adoption of the technical 

enhancement among lenders, vendors, 

and other key constituents to ensure 

broad availability for borrowers.

Enhance Eligibility and 

Underwriting via Rental 

Reporting to Credit Bureaus 

to support the expansion of 

eligibility for Black consumers 

(Amplify the Consumer 

Data Industry [CDIA] Rental 

Empowerment Project)

N/A We continue to engage with CDIA on this 

project, but only in an advisory capacity. 

Because the ultimate outcome of the 

Rental Empowerment Project lies with 

CDIA’s Metro 2 task force members, and 

not Fannie Mae, we discontinued this 

action as a formal part of our Enterprise 

Housing Equity Plan in 2023.

APPENDIX
Equitable Housing Finance Plan 2023 | 5 8

2 0 2 2 ACT I O N 2 0 2 3 ACT I O N SUMMARY OF CHANGES

Launch Closing Cost 

Calculator Tool

N/A While Fannie Mae continues to pursue the 

development of a closing cost calculator 

tool for consumers, this action was 

eliminated from the Plan in 2023 and 

going forward after a determination that it 

did not align with the specific goals of the 

Plan, in that its scope was too broad from 

a population perspective. When the tool 

is completed, it will be available on the 

consumer-facing pages of fanniemae.com.

Test adding ongoing education 

and counseling support to 

one or more SPCP pilots to 

strengthen borrower housing 

stability over time

Test add-on features to one 

or more SPCP pilots aimed at 

strengthening ongoing borrower 

stability by helping borrowers 

deal with unexpected expenses 

and repairs, or temporary 

disruptions to income

Pilot homeownership 

sustainability services, such 

as post-purchase counseling 

and mortgage reserve accounts, 

as a feature of special purpose 

credit programs (SPCPs) to 

strengthen borrower housing 

stability over time

These two actions were combined in 2023 

to consolidate our add-on sustainability 

features related to SPCPs. The updated 

action will focus on post-purchase 

counseling services to SPCP borrowers 

in one or more of Fannie Mae’s six 

primary markets in 2023, and developing 

a comprehensive plan to offer reserve 

accounts for participants in these SPCPs.

Provide ongoing oversight of 

Servicer Forbearance/Loss 

Mitigation efforts

N/A Fannie Mae conducted a statistical 

analysis to determine if there are 

disparities across certain borrower 

profiles or protected classes, including 

non-white vs. white borrowers, 

gender, and age groups. As a result 

of this analysis, Fannie Mae found no 

disproportional outcomes across race/

ethnic groups or gender in loss mitigation 

monitoring. Fannie Mae will continue to 

monitor these metrics but, as a result of 

our findings, this action will no longer 

be formally included in the Equitable 

Housing Finance Plan.

APPENDIX
Equitable Housing Finance Plan 2023 | 5 9

This chart includes twelve (12) new actions added to Fannie Mae’s Equitable 

Housing Finance Plan in 2023.

Support financial capabilities coaching to build credit and savings in targeted markets (LISC) 

Support the implementation of a positive rent reporting program for Black renters to 

help them establish and/or improve credit using on-site financial coaching programs 

at rental properties to enable Black renters to establish or improve their credit history 

(Innovation Challenge)

Support the expansion of a comprehensive financial coaching and HUD-approved 

counseling and planning for development of affordable housing in rural Virginia 

(Innovation Challenge)

Leverage the value derived from Social Index-related mortgage-backed securities issuance 

to promote access to credit and borrowing cost reduction for underserved borrowers

Pilot a multifamily borrower diversity program to reduce barriers for property owners from 

historically underserved groups

Launch a Delegated Underwriting and Servicing (DUS®) correspondent diversity program

Develop and launch Sponsor-Dedicated Workforce (SDW), a Fannie Mae Multifamily loan 

incentive initiative for use by multifamily borrowers and lenders

Continue to advance Sponsor-Initiated Affordability (SIA), a Fannie Mae Multifamily loan 

incentive initiative for use by multifamily borrowers and lenders

Support the revitalization and expansion of housing opportunities in a historically Black 

neighborhood through rehabilitation and infill housing (Innovation Challenge)

Support the creation of locally owned modular construction facilities in urban 

communities of color (Innovation Challenge)

Support the development of a locally controlled special purpose credit program 

to increase Black homeownership (Innovation Challenge)

Increase awareness of fair servicing best practices to address borrower loss 

mitigation disparities

 NEW ACTIONS FOR 2023

APPENDIX