It is generally anticipated that President-elect Donald Trump will privatize Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the mortgage behemoths that insure 70% of mortgages in the United States, during his second term.
Some economists caution that privatizing these two mortgage giants, which were valued at a combined $146 billion as of the third quarter of this year, would be unduly complicated and could make it more expensive for many Americans to borrow money to buy a home in a housing market characterized by persistently high mortgage rates, a long-standing supply shortage, and skyrocketing home prices.
The attempt by Trump’s first administration to remove Fannie and Freddie from the government conservatorship that has existed since the 2008 financial crisis was unsuccessful. The government may have a billion-dollar interest in the two mortgage behemoths.
