[1]Freddie Mac's [2] mortgage portfolio grew in September, marking the second month of positive growth in the year's first nine months.
According to the company's volume summary [3], Freddie Mac's total portfolio grew last month at an annualized rate of 2.2 percent, bringing the year-to-date average growth rate to -1.1 percent.
The only other time the portfolio came up positive this year was in July, when it expanded at a rate of just 0.1 percent.
As of September 30, the portfolio's ending balance was just less than $1.9 trillion.
The growth accompanied a slight decline in purchases and issuances to $29.7 billion throughout the month. That was offset by drops in both sales and liquidations, resulting in a $3.5 billion increase overall.
Freddie Mac reported its single-family refinance loan purchase and guarantee volume was $12.0 billion in September, representing 45 percent of total single-family mortgage portfolio purchases and issuances. Relief refinances made up approximately 16 percent of that volume based on unpaid principal balance (UPB).
On the multifamily side, new business activity came to $2.8 billion, adding up to $14.1 billion year-to-date through September. The total reflects the UPB of Freddie Mac's multifamily new loan purchases, issuances of other guarantee commitments, and issuances of other structured securities during the month.
As business picked up, delinquency improved. Freddie Mac's single-family seriously delinquent rate ticked down for another month to 1.96 percent in September, the company reported. The multifamily delinquency rate dropped to 0.03 percent, its second lowest level this year.
Freddie Mac reported completing 4,782 loan modifications in September. For the year's first nine months, total loan modifications came to 52,138.