For decades, RESNET has been advocating for the mortgage process to credit the energy performance of a home. This effort is beginning to pay off. The two major purchasers of mortgages on the secondary market, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, both have issued green bonds for energy-efficient homes. This is only possible because of a robust and mature RESNET HERS® industry. The most aggressive program has been Freddie Mac’s Single-Family Green Mortgage Back Security (MBS) program. Under the program, the secondary mortgage market offers incentives for lenders on new single-family homes that achieve a HERS® Index score of 60 or less. The Freddie Mac program began in January 2022. The Freddie Mac program underscores the importance of RESNET’s National Building Registry. Only homes that are included in RESNET’s Registry will be eligible for Freddie Mac’s Green MBS. This is because all homes in RESNET’s Registry are subject to quality assurance oversight. Learn more about the Freddie Mac Green MBS by listening to EP 101 “Freddie Mac’s Green Mortgage Program with Simone Beaty” of RESNET’s RESTalk podcast. Fannie Mae’s Green MBS program for new single-family homes is based on ENERGY STAR Certification and launched in 2020. Independent verification for homes in the program is conducted by RESNET accredited Rating Provider, PEG, LLC. A recent announcement from Fannie Mae stated their Single-Family Green Mortgage-Backed Securities (MBS) program eclipsed $1 billion in issuance in just two years. Learn more about the Fannie Mae Green MBS by listening to episode EP74 “HERS® ratings and the PEG Green MBS Program by Matthew Cooper on RESNET’s RESTalk podcast. Both programs are great news for the builders of RESNET HERS® Rated homes and the mortgage companies that finance these homes. Mortgages of ENERGY STAR Certified homes are eligible for purchase by Fannie Mae as part of their Green MBS program and any home that achieves a HERS® Index score of 60 or less is eligible for Freddie Mac’s program.
