The ""New York Federal Reserve Bank"":http://www.newyorkfed.org purchased $21.75 billion in mortgage-backed securities (MBS) from government agencies this week. Total MBS purchases since the Fed program began in early January now stands at $355 billion.
Federal Reserve officials decided in March to increase the central bank's debt buys in support of mortgage lending and housing markets. The Fed has raised the amount of MBS it plans to purchase this year to $1.25 trillion, more than double its previous commitment of $500 billion.
The central banks' expanded debt purchases are intended to drive down borrowing costs and mortgage rates, and keep them low through the remainder of 2009. The Fed's efforts thus far have sent rates for home loans plummeting well below the five percent mark. Officials hope the low rates will boost home sales and help to reduce housing inventories, which have become inflated with the growing numbers of foreclosed properties now on the market.
The gross amount of the Federal Reserve's ""MBS purchases"":http://www.newyorkfed.org/markets/mbs/mbs_sales.html this week totaled $30.4 billion. The Fed bought $25.45 billion in mortgage securities from Fannie Mae, $1.75 billion from Freddie Mac, and $3.2 billion from Ginnie Mae.