Fitch Downgrades Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac
Posted on 08/03/2023
What’s old is new, as concerns mount about U.S. debt and government-backed mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, all of which Fitch has now downgraded.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac guarantee more than two-thirds of U.S. mortgages, which remain at sky-high levels. With mortgage rates above 7%, sales are slow and in markets where houses had been flipping with ease the last few years, there are often no offers at all for hopeful sellers.
Those most bearish on the housing market are real estate agents. A staggering 60,000 have left the industry in the last six months as deals have been slow to nonexistent for quite some time in many markets. The real estate market may continue losing agents. Just three months ago it was estimated that there were two agents for every home for sale.
