The federal government’s takeover of America’s largest backers of mortgage loans means short-term safety for homeowners but creates long-term uncertainties, experts say.

Earlier this week, the U.S. Treasury Department announced it was placing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac into conservatorship. The companies were created by the government to buy mortgage loans from banks and other institutions and thus allow banks to issue more mortgages.

“It probably will help stabilize the market in the short term, but having the government run these two companies over time is very questionable in my book,” said Jason Farmer, broker-owner of ReMax Renaissance Realtors and former president of the Chattanooga Association of Realtors.

The Treasury Department has pleged up to $200 billion to the two companies if needed, according to the Associated Press. The companies combined control $1.6 trillion in home mortgage loans.

There has always been a question whether the two companies are public or private, and the takeover acknowledges the ambiguity, said Don Oakes, president of Mortgage South and former president of the Tennessee Mortgage Bankers Association.

Mortage loan rates have fallen this week, Mr. Oakes said. Freddie Mac’s weekly survey of mortgage rates Thursday showed the 30-year fixed rate loan was 5.93 percent, down from 6.35 percent the week before. That’s the first time the rate has been below 6 percent since late May. The rate had been dropping prior to the federal takeover.

“I’ve heard people get excited about the drop in rates,” Mr. Farmer said. “One of my agents had people buy a home this week because of that.”

One economist says there will be no effect on homeowners whose mortgage loans are in good standing, although people who are in default could see some relief.

The government may decide to modify loans that are in default to make the loans affordable instead of foreclosing on the houses, said John K. McIlwain, senior resident fellow for housing at the Urban Land Institute.

“That’s not clear that could happen, but it could since the federal government is running” Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, he said.

Foreclosure filings have fallen locally in the past 45 days because the companies that work with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are working to find alternatives to foreclosure, said Cindy Walker, director of Crye-Leike Realtors’ foreclosure division. That could be temporary, however, she said.

“That’s a great thing,” Ms. Walker said. “So I see us having a lull in foreclosures for a bit, but there are borrowers that will just not be able to work out a plan, and these will then come back into the foreclosure process.”

Long term, while there are questions on the takeover’s effect on the market, it could lead to an increase in lending, Mr. McIlwain said, by easing tight credit standards.

“It’s too early to tell the size of the impact,” he said. “We’re in uncharted territory.”

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