The Big Five Markets That Power Fannie and Freddie’s Multifamily Boom Article originally posted on Globe St. on March 4, 2026 The multifamily market is set for another year of robust activity as Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae prepare to deploy significantly larger lending volumes. The Federal Housing Finance Agency raised each government-sponsored enterprise’s 2026 loan purchase cap to $88 billion, a 20.5% increase from the $73 billion limit in 2025. But much of that financing will again be concentrated in a handful of major metro areas that underpin the GSE market. According to Trepp’s Thomas Taylor, the New York, Los Angeles, Dallas-Fort Worth, Washington, D.C. and Atlanta metropolitan statistical areas “consistently draw the highest volumes of GSE lending” because of their size, renter depth and institutional ownership patterns. Together, these five metros account for roughly $241.5 billion or more than 25% of the combined Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae multifamily portfolios. “These regions share common structural features: large and diverse renter populations, steady pipelines of stabilized Class A and B product suited to agency execution, and liquid investor ecosystems that support frequent refinancing and property trading,” Taylor wrote. New York-Newark-Jersey City dominates the securitized GSE multifamily market, with a total loan value of $77.3 billion— making up 31.9% of all volume—across 5,283 properties. The area’s density and long reliance on rental housing make it an enduring cornerstone of GSE activity. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim ranks second, totaling $51.0 billion—21.1% of the universe—across 3,821 properties, driven by persistent supply shortages and high renter cost burdens. Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington follows with $42.5 billion and 2,702 properties, while Washington-Arlington-Alexandria comes in at $41.1 billion and 1,683 properties. Rounding out the top five is Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, totaling $29.6 billion through 1,663 properties. For Freddie Mac, the largest multifamily holdings are concentrated in New York-Newark-Jersey City ($39 billion, 3,039 properties), followed by Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington ($21.2 billion, 1,104 properties), Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim ($20.8 billion, 1,916 properties), Washington-Arlington-Alexandria ($18.5 billion, 546 properties) and Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land ($17.3 billion, 880 properties). Freddie Mac’s portfolio skews toward markets with “substantial institutional sponsor participation,” a prevalence of garden-style communities, and high refinancing turnover. The inclusion of Houston—sixth overall—is linked to its alignment with large-format suburban product and the recent Sun Belt development surge. Fannie Mae’s concentration shows a slightly different geography. Its largest multifamily exposure is in New York-Newark-Jersey City ($38.3 billion, 2,244 properties), followed by Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim ($30.2 billion, 1,905 properties), Washington-Arlington-Alexandria ($22.6 billion, 1,137 properties), Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington ($21.3 billion, 1,598 properties) and Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell ($15 billion, 909 properties). Fannie Mae’s footprint is “slightly more” tilted toward coastal and urban core areas, reflecting long-standing relationships with major coastal sponsors and a greater share of mid and high-density infill properties aligned with its sizing and underwriting standards.