Fannie Mae [1]’s mortgage portfolio is turning around—or is at least headed in the right direction, according to the GSE’s March 2017 Monthly Summary released on Monday. The agency’s gross mortgage portfolio increased at a compound annualized rate of 0.1 percent in March.
March’s numbers come unexpectedly. In February, Fannie’s mortgage portfolio decreased at an annualized rate of nearly 17 percent.
By the end of March, Fannie’s aggregate unpaid principal balance on its mortgage portfolio was just under $269 billion—up about $30,000 over the month, but down slightly from January’s $272 billion. It has dropped by nearly $70 million since March 2016.
Serious delinquencies on the GSE’s conventional single-family loans also saw improvement, dipping to 1.12 percent—seven basis points lower than last month. The rate of serious delinquencies on multi-family loans remained the same at 0.05 percent.
Both numbers are down over the year; single-family serious delinquencies were at 1.4 percent in March 2016, while multi-family delinquencies sat at 0.06 percent for the same time period. Loans enhanced with primary mortgage insurance saw the biggest annual dip, falling from 2.23 percent in March 2016 to 1.95 percent in 2017. Credit risk transfers rose from 0.10 percent to 0.16 percent.
In total, Fannie completed 7,470 loan modifications in March—a significant jump from the 6,151 loan mods of February and 6,300 in January.
The GSE’s total book of business increased at a compound annualized rate of 3.2 percent for the month and 2.1 percent for the year, reaching $3.16 trillion. This includes Fannie’s gross mortgage portfolio, as well as its mortgage-backed securities and other guarantees.
Broken down, Fannie Mae’s March mortgage portfolio largely favored purchases. The agency completed $21.3 million in purchases, $17.3 million in sales, and $3.9 million in liquidations. Purchases were up for the month, while sales and liquidations decreased slightly from February.
Non-Fannie agencies completed $204 billion in mortgage loans for the month—a decrease from January’s $210 billion, February’s $204 billion, and March 2016 $248 billion.
To see the full March 2017 Monthly Summary, visit FannieMae.com. [2]