The Obama Administration made the request that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac lower their loan limits, thus cutting back their share in the current market. While the Administration had requested that this change would be made before the end of 2013, Edward DeMarco, the Acting Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency stated otherwise. He noted that there are currently too many other changes that are going into effect by the end of the year.

Recent amendments have been made by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which will enforce the qualified mortgage rule beginning in 2014. This will be an adjustment that lenders will have to make in order to meet these new standards.

The Obama Administration has been pushing to lower the Fannie-Freddie limits for sometime now in hopes that this will push some of the responsibility off of the government and back onto private lenders.

The FHFA meets every November to consider their loan limits. However, DeMarco noted that no change will be made to the limits without at least a six month warning. He also anticipates that the fees that are associated with government loans will also continue to rise, also potentially turning borrowers towards private lenders.

Stay tuned for information as to when the Fannie and Freddie loan limits are announced!