Congressman's letter to FHFA's Pulte outlines hopeful changes to Fannie Mae guidelines

Florida’s struggling condominium market is hoping for a jolt of energy from the Trump administration. A Fannie Mae regulation made in 2008, which only applies in the state of Florida, is making funding more challenging. One industry leader hopes that it will change soon.
Byron Donalds, a member of the House of Representatives from the 19th district in Florida, sent a letter to Federal Housing Finance Agency director William J. Pulte on June 3 to spotlight an issue that is making condo funding more challenging in his state.
The issue is a geographic-specific restriction made in 2008 for limited review condo loans only in the state of Florida, which limited those loans to just 75% loan-to-value (LTV). This is compared to 90% LTV in all other states.
Full review condos in Florida allow borrowers the same rights as other states, with the ability to borrow up to between 95% and 97% LTV. Limited Review, a simplified approval process designed to expedite financing, is an exception where the rules in the state differ from the rest of the country.
Danielle Blake (pictured top), chief of residential and advocacy with the Miami Association of Realtors, said they have asked over the years why Florida was singled out, but haven’t received a clear explanation.
“We have asked that question many times, many different ways,” Blake told Mortgage Professional America. “We have done conference calls with Fannie and asked the question. Initially, we were told that it was the REO inventory that we had, but we went back and proved that South Florida's inventory was in second place compared to Las Vegas at the time.
“But this law, this provision, the geotargeting, didn't apply to condos in Nevada.”
She said Fannie Mae followed up and said that the fact that Florida allows reserves to be waived was the reason for the regulation.
“Then I did research again, and they came back, and I said, Massachusetts has the same exact language that Florida does, allowing unit owners to waive reserves on an annual basis, but this geotargeting policy doesn't apply to Massachusetts,” she said. “And then they came back and said, ‘It's proprietary information.’ I feel that with this particular issue, the goalposts keep getting moved, and we don't really get a good, clarified answer.
“Pulte is there”
People in Florida are hopeful that with Pulte leading Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac now, maybe this regulation will be removed and the state will be brought in line with the other 49.
“We have a lot of people in the Trump administration, and so Congressman Donalds has written this letter,” Blake said. He has written this letter from the perspective of, why is Florida being treated differently than the other 49 states. And that’s really the answer we want, ‘Can you give us a confirmed answer as to why?”
“For us, for our local markets, it does not make sense to our association and to our members, why we have a different policy for Florida.”
In the letter, Donalds notes that as of March 4, 2025, there were 17,186 condominiums and townhouses priced at $400,000 or less in Broward, Miami-Dade, and Palm Beach Counties. This was compared to just 799 single-family homes in the same price range.
“For many Floridians, condominiums and townhouses are the only viable path to homeownership,” Donalds said in the letter. “Given the significance of this issue, I strongly urge FHFA to reevaluate these restrictive policies and ensure that Florida homebuyers have equal access to favorable mortgage terms. Floridians deserve the same homeownership opportunities as residents in every other state.”
What a policy change would mean
Blake knows that the Federal Reserve has a lot on its plate. There has been discussion about the privatization of the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs). Additionally, Pulte has been working on implementing programs to reduce mortgage fraud. He is also allowing for crypto assets to be used in Fannie and Freddie transactions.
However, she hopes that they’ll also be able to examine the Florida limited review condo issue.
“We don’t want this issue that’s important to Floridians to get lost,” she said. “This is an affordability issue in terms of a numbers game. You've got interest rates that are higher across the country, so inventory is backing up. Not just in Florida, on condos across the whole country, and we are also in line with that. We don't have any excess condo inventory compared to the national average.”
David Druey of Centennial Bank warns aging South Florida condos face rising insurance costs, 40-year recertifications, and deferred maintenance—pushing owners to sell as investors step in.https://t.co/6DIivjrCuw
— Mortgage Professional America Magazine (@MPAMagazineUS) June 19, 2025
She’s hoping that a policy change, combined with potentially more interest rate cuts in the second half of the year, could make a big difference in the Florida market.
“When you're looking at that, you know we are looking at affordability. Yes, you can bring down the interest rates. Absolutely, we would welcome that too, but you could treat us like the other 49 states, and it would also make it affordable for our buyers and specifically our workforce.”
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