More than one-third of all US housing, or 35.2%, sits within community associations, according to the Foundation for Community Association Research’s 2025 Statistical Review, which tallies 373,000 community associations housing 78.1 million residents nationwide.
For first-time buyers, moderate-income households, seniors, and buyers in higher-cost markets, the letter said, condominiums remain “one of the most attainable paths to homeownership.”
Limited review elimination raises lender and borrower costs
At the center of the coalition’s concerns is the retirement of the limited review process, mandatory for all loan applications dated August 3, or later under Fannie Mae’s Lender Letter LL-2026-03 and a coordinated Freddie Mac bulletin.
Under the previous framework, borrowers with strong credit profiles and larger down payments could secure condo financing through a streamlined assessment.
After August 3, even those transactions require a comprehensive full review covering a project’s financials, reserve funding, litigation history, insurance, and inspection records — generating what the letter described as “increasing documentation burdens, third-party review expenses, lender questionnaire demands, and processing times.”