When the federal government announced earlier this week that it would allow Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to rebuild a portion of their capital reserves to a total of $45 billion combined as part of a plan to exit conservatorship, the message was clear: The government-sponsored enterprises are back and they’re not likely to go away any time soon.

As in many other cities across the nation, Atlanta’s housing costs are rising fast, so much so that many middle- and lower-income residents are forced to leave because they can’t keep up with them.