Fannie Mae will invest up to $145 million in three low-income housing tax credit funds in a bid to provide capital for affordable rental housing in underserved rural markets. The new funds are Cinnaire Fund for Housing LP 33, Ohio Equity Fund for Housing LP XXVII, and MHEG Fund 50 LP.

"Fannie Mae plays an increasingly important role in supporting underserved markets in rural America," said Dana Brown, vice President of LIHTC investments at Fannie Mae. "These funds will allow us to channel much needed capital to support neighborhoods that need it most." These funds are members of NASLEF, a nonprofit promoting efficient management of state and local equity funds.

Fannie Mae received approval from the Federal Housing Finance Agency  to re-enter the LIHTC market as an equity investor in November 2017.

"It is good to have Fannie Mae back as a low-income housing tax credit investor," said Bill Shanahan, president of The National Association of State and Local Equity Funds. "Working with our nonprofit NASLEF members, Fannie Mae is helping bring much needed capital to the rural, underserved markets. It can be a challenge to attract capital to these markets." Also, Shanahan is president of the Northern New England Housing Investment Fund.

Cinnaire Fund for Housing
Fannie Mae committed to invest up to $35 million in the Cinnaire Fund for Housing LP 33 with Cinnaire Corp. The fund has assets under management of $150.8 million and will invest in partnerships that own LIHTC properties located in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. Thirty-seven percent of the Cinnaire Fund portfolio supports affordable housing in rural markets.

Ohio Equity Fund for Housing
Fannie Mae committed to invest up to $50 million in Ohio Equity Fund for Housing LP XXVII with Ohio Capital Corp. Assets under management will be $250 million to $275 million. Ohio Equity Fund will invest in LIHTC housing projects in Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and West Virginia. Fully thirty-four percent of the fund's investments support affordable housing in rural markets.

MHEG Fund
Fannie Mae committed to invest up to $60 million in MHEG Fund 50 LP with Midwest Housing Equity Group. The fund manages a total of $182 million and will invest in partnerships that own 41 LIHTC properties in Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, Oklahoma, and Texas. Fully sixty-eight percent of the fund's portfolio supports affordable housing in rural markets.

Strong market conditions helped fuel a 6 percent increase in multifamily lending in 2017, as lenders provided a record high $285 billion in new mortgages for apartment buildings with five or more units, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's annual report on the multifamily lending market.

"The multifamily lending market in 2017 benefited from improving fundamentals, rising property values and low interest rates," said Jamie Woodwell, vice president of commercial real estate research at the MBA. "The result was larger loan sizes and record levels of overall borrowing and lending. The market remains well served, with 2,554 lenders last year making loans backed by multifamily rental properties. Demand came from borrowers and lenders of all sizes, with loan amounts ranging from thousands of dollars to hundreds of millions."

The top five multifamily lenders in 2017 by dollar volume were Wells Fargo, CBRE Capital Markets, Inc., JP Morgan Chase and Company, Walker and Dunlop, and Berkadia. Fully 58 percent of the active lenders made five or fewer multifamily loans over the course of the year.

The $285 billion in multifamily mortgages originated in 2017 were funded by a variety of capital sources.  By dollar volume, the greatest share, 46 percent, went to the government sponsored enterprises, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Greystone Bel has closed the sale, with acquisition financing provided by Greystone, of Carlton Apartments, a 144-unit garden-style multifamily property in the Lafayette Park area of Detroit.

The Greystone Bel Investment Sales team, led by Cary Belovicz, represented the seller in the sale of the asset to Florida-based Andover Real Estate Partners and Michigan-based The M-Group.

Cary Belovicz, executive managing director of Greystone Bel, and John Marr, managing director‍ of Greystone, secured a 10-year, 4.96% fixed-rate Fannie Mae Green Rewards conventional loan for the buyer.

More than 195 groups registered to review the property, with 25 offers made by local, national, and international investors. “Carlton Apartments’ proximity to Downtown Detroit and its irreplaceable location drove unprecedented interest,” said Belovicz.

Built in 1971 and located at 1387 East Larned Street, Carlton Apartments offers studio, one-and two-bedroom apartments. This central location provides residents with unobstructed views of the Detroit skyline--from the GM Renaissance Center to Greektown Casino--and is within walking distance to upscale restaurants, high-end retail, and the transformative Qline. The city’s diverse employer base of Fortune-500 corporations, world-class centers of education, healthcare, and innovative technology startups are also just steps away from the property.

Arbor Realty Trust Inc. has closed on three single-family rental portfolio deals totaling $66.4M, spanning nine states under the Freddie Mac Single-Family Rental pilot.

"Arbor is firmly committed to the single-family rental market as it provides much-needed affordable housing to our nation's workforce," said Ivan Kaufman, chairman, president and CEO of Arbor Realty Trust. "With more than half of the rental housing in the United States being comprised of single-family rentals, this is quickly becoming a recognized source of affordable housing for families throughout the country."

Arbor Realty Trust is a real estate investment trust and national direct lender specializing in loan origination and servicing for multifamily, seniors housing, healthcare, and other commercial real estate assets. The Freddie Mac Single-Family Rental pilot was administered through the multi-family division of the company.

"These transactions continue Freddie Mac's Affordable Single-Family Rental pilot, providing low-income families in nine states with safe, decent and affordable housing," said David Leopold vice president for targeted affordable sales and investments at Freddie Mac Multifamily. "We were pleased to work with Arbor on this important transaction even as we prepare to sunset our pilot. Arbor's national reach allowed us to provide more than 1,300 low-income families with quality rental housing in locations ranging from the Southeast to the Midwest and all the way up to New England."

The transactions include the following properties:

• Reven SFR Portfolio, an 824-unit portfolio located in Jacksonville, Fla.; Memphis; Atlanta; Birmingham, Ala.; and Houston, received a $51.3 million refinancing under the Freddie Mac Single-Family Rental pilot. The transaction provides a 7-year fixed rate with a 30-year amortization schedule. 97% or 799 residential units are affordable for low-income families earning at or below 80% of the Area Median Income, or AMI, and 100% are affordable to families earning 100 percent of AMI. Jason Scott of Arbor's Atlanta office originated the loan.
• PK Portfolio, a 415-unit, single-family rental portfolio located in Indiana, Michigan and Ohio, received $6.7M in financing under the Freddie Mac Single-Family Rental pilot. The transaction provides a 5-year fixed rate with a 30-year amortization schedule. 100% or 415 units are affordable for low-income families earning at or below 80% of AMI and 100% are affordable to families earning 100 percent of AMI. Ari Short of Arbor's New York City office originated the loan.
• Netz ADD SFR Portfolio, a 115-unit portfolio located in New Haven, CT, received an $8.4M refinancing under the Freddie Mac Single-Family Rental pilot. The transaction provides a 10-year fixed rate with a 30-year amortization schedule. 97% or 112 residential units are affordable for low-income families earning at or below 80% of AMI and 100% are affordable to families earning 100 percent of AMI. Robert Mendeles of Arbor's Englewood Cliffs, N.J., office, originated the loan.