There have been some rumblings about this earlier but the policy of designating certain zip codes as "declining markets" is certainly in play. 

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the nation's two largest mortgage
underwriters have declared certain zip codes as "declining markets" and
now force home buyers to pay an additional 5% on homes as compared to
their normal underwriting guidelines. In one case I'm aware of, this
doubled the down payment required of a couple with perfect credit. If
they were to buy a house for 300,000 (fairly average for the Chicago
region) that would mean borrowers would have to find an additional
$15,000 down before they could purchase a home. It takes most
middle-class families at least a year to save another $15,000.
Obviously, the burden is even greater for low-income families.

In
both Freddie and Fannies cases, geography, not the buyers' ability to
pay or any other rational lending criteria are used to determine the
policy. The primary factors involved in determining "declining markets"
are changes in home values and foreclosure rates. Freddie's model does
offer some waivers for borrowers with a credit score of 740 or higher.
They consider their models proprietary so we don't know exactly how
they work but we know that those two factors are the far and away the
most important.

Personally, I think this smacks of redlining.
The policy will certainly have a disproportionately negative impact on
minority and low-income communities where the foreclosure crisis is
most prevalent. However, at the moment we can't prove it because Fannie
and Freddie won't provide a listing of all the zip codes affected by
the policy.

Moreover, the move is counterproductive because it
is going to force more foreclosures as people find it harder to buy
homes for sale, including those being sold by defaulting home owners
and banks looking to unload repossessed homes.

What's most
tragic is that the lending industry has been sued previously for
similar practices. We in the fair housing community thought that we had
effectively addressed this issue in the 1980s when we sued lenders for
redlining practices then. Now, government sponsored entities are
engaging in the same unfair practices by making credit harder to access
in poor and minority communities.

YOU CAN DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!
1. Call your Congressperson and your Senators and tell them --
"I'm
calling because I want Fannie and Freddie to cease redlining
neighborhoods. I want Congress to hold hearings and demand that Freddie
and Fannie end these policies"

2. Spread the word and tell your friends and family to call too.

3.
If you're involved in a Presidential campaign, try to work this issue
up the chain and ask your candidate to speak out against redlining by
Freddie and Fannie.