WASHINGTON — The Federal Housing FinanceAgency said Monday it will give at least six months' notice ofany drop in the loan sizes that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac willaccept.

FHFA chief Edward DeMarco spoke to housing finance executivesfrom banks and credit unions attending the annual meeting of theMortgage Bankers Association in Washington.

His agency is the regulator and conservator of secondarymortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

DeMarco put his remarks about the size of loans which the GSEsaccept into the context of shrinking their footprint in thesecondary mortgage market, something he called “essential” as apart of the mandate for conservatorship.

Also from MBA:
Warren Says Prep for NewBoom

Long Run Seen for 30-Year Mortgage

Freddie Mac CEO Says Save Infrastructure
FHFA Pledges Six Months of Notice
VideoCUTs: Warren Live at MBA

Currently the GSEs limit the size of single-family home theyaccept to $417,000 for the majority of markets and $625,000 forloans in higher-priced mortgage markets.

DeMarco did not say what the new limits would be, but said theywould be announced for 2014 in late November. He said the agencywould seek to leave plenty of time for the market to handle thechange, reminding the audience that the agency's third goal as theGSE's conservator is to maintain market stability.

“We will continue to strive to keep the market well informedabout changes approaching,” DeMarco said.