Fannie Mae announced Monday that borrowers purchasing a Fannie Mae-owned property through HomePath, the GSE’s REO disposition operation, will receive up to 3.5 percent in closing cost assistance.

The initial offer must be submitted on or after April 11, 2011, and the sale must close on or before June 30, 2011 to be eligible for the incentive. Fannie Mae said it can give no assurance on the time required to close, but initial offers submitted after May 15, 2011 are particularly questionable for closing by the incentive deadline of June 30.

To qualify, buyers must reside in the home as their primary residence; sales to investors are excluded.

“Attracting qualified buyers to the market and reducing the inventory of vacant homes remains essential to stabilizing neighborhoods and helping the market recover,” said Terry Edwards, EVP of credit portfolio management at Fannie Mae.

“Since interest rates remain low, the incentive will go a long way toward helping even more families buy a new home so this is a great time for Fannie Mae to offer some assistance,” Edwards added.

In Arizona and Texas, there will be a $500 bonus available for selling agents whose buyers purchase and close on a HomePath property by June 30, 2011, and meet the terms and conditions of the closing cost incentive.

Retail and public entities are also eligible for the special buyer-assistance offer, however pool and auction sales are not eligible.

The D.C.-based government-backed mortgage firm rolled out a 3.5 percent subsidy for REO buyers in January of last year. Fannie Mae says it has seen considerable success with the program and as a result, has extended or restarted the temporary buyer assistance incentive several times – a strategy aimed at helping the GSE unload a bloated supply of repossessed homes.

The company acquired 262,078 single-family REO properties through foreclosure in 2010, compared with 145,617 in 2009. As of December 31, 2010, the company’s inventory of single-family REO properties was 162,489. Fannie says the carrying value of the company’s single-family REO was $15 billion as of the end of last year.

All Fannie Mae-owned REOs are listed on HomePath.com and most listings include detailed property descriptions, photographs, and community and school information.

Many Fannie Mae-owned properties are also eligible for special HomePath Mortgage and HomePath Renovation Mortgage financing, which offers homebuyers an opportunity to purchase with as little as 3 percent down.