The New York Times is reporting that quasi-governmental mortgage finance company Freddie Mac plans to get into the rentals game by providing up to a billion dollars in financing to midsize landlords and smaller firms that buy single-families and rent them out as affordable housing.  While the details are still be worked the Federal Housing Finance Agency has approved the financing effort on a trial basis.

“There are now about 17 million homes being rented, up from 11 million in 2007….The vast majority of rentals are still managed by mom-and-pop operators who own a small number of homes. And Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have long provided financing to small investors. But financing has been hard to come by for nonprofit housing groups and midsize investor landlords who have had to rely mainly on private-equity-backed firms for financing.”

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