Secondary Market

After slipping in October, purchase and issuance activity picked up again, coming to $29.5 billion, Freddie Mac reported. That was offset by an increase in sales and liquidations, which whittled the portfolio's monthly increase to about $614 million. In other monthly changes, the unpaid principal balance (UPB) of Freddie Mac's mortgage-related investments portfolio fell by approximately $4.7 billion last month, a negative annualized growth rate of 14.0 percent.

Freddie Mac announced Tuesday that it has obtained a number of insurance policies under its Agency Credit Insurance Structure (ACIS) in an effort to reduce risk to taxpayers in mortgage loans and further expand risk-sharing initiatives beyond capital markets. The announcement comes one week after Fannie Mae announced it was expanding the role of private capital in the mortgage market by transferring the credit risk on a pool of loans from taxpayers to a panel of domestic reinsurers.

The upcoming year is expected to bring continuing improvements in the market for residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS), according to one forecast.

Fannie Mae has expanded its risk sharing offerings with Wednesday's announcement of the credit insurance risk transfer (CIRT) deal, which transfers the credit risk on a pool of loans from the taxpayers to a panel of domestic reinsurers.

Despite persistent concerns about risk and regulatory compliance, the majority of mortgage professionals agree that business conditions today are better now than they were a year ago.

As policymakers continue to mull over the possible dissolution of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, a new survey shows industry professionals support the continued—albeit reduced—presence of the two mortgage giants in the market.

Following months of talk and speculation, both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac announced on Monday they will begin allowing qualifying first-time borrowers to purchase homes with just a 3 percent down payment.

Americans' sentiment toward housing and the economy took a small backward step in November, according to Fannie Mae's National Housing Survey released Monday.

Mortgage banking profits hit another stumbling block in the third quarter, sinking slightly as a decline in secondary market income offset rising production numbers.

October marked the second straight month of growth for the portfolio, which has contracted for seven of 2014's first 10 months. Year-to-date, the portfolio has shrunk at an average annualized rate of 0.8 percent.