Real estate agents selling real-estate owned properties on behalf of Fannie Mae must work toward selling the home to owner occupants. And the government-sponsored enterprise will now offer a cash incentive of $1,200 to agents selling REOs, according to high level staffers at Fannie Mae. “Beginning [Tuesday] we will continue our current incentive of up to 3.5% off buyer closing cost per property,” said a Fannie Mae panelist at the REO Expo conference in Fort Worth, Texas. “And we are adding an additional $1,200 incentive.” “The initial offer must include this incentive,” he added. “And the buyer must be an owner occupant.” There are other stipulations to receiving the $1,200 incentive, all which will be made available tomorrow on the HomePath website. Fannie will also be rolling out a more comprehensive utility programs, for agents who pay to maintain REO properties. Fannie dearly wants owner occupants to gravitate to the REO market. Another program, it’s First Look standard, mandates that for the first 15 days on the market, only owner occupants can bid on REO properties. Fannie Mae admits that costs are rising for REO agents in the sector, even if it is related to issues that are industry-wide. “We know that title has become a challenge, not just for Fannie Mae,” another panelist said. Write to Jacob Gaffney. Follow him on Twitter @JacobGaffney.