Housing Finance Working Paper Series

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This paper examines the borrower and neighborhood characteristics of mortgages purchased by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two major Government-Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs) in the conventional secondary mortgage market. The GSEs' mortgage purchases are compared to all mortgages originated in the conventional conforming loan market, including originations retained in portfolio by banks and thrift institutions. The analysis is based on Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data on home purchase loans originated in metropolitan areas between 1992 and 1995. The paper finds that there is room for further increases in purchases of affordable loans by Fannie Mae and, especially, Freddie Mac.