Tag Archives: Freddie Mac

A turnaround in housing helped drive Freddie Mac to a $2.9 billion profit in the third quarter, the GSE reported. Freddie Mac's net earnings dipped slightly under the $3.0 billion reported for Q2, but it helped keep the company from making any additional Treasury draws. In addition, Freddie's comprehensive income of $5.6 billion in Q3 allowed it to pay a $1.8 billion dividend on senior preferred stock.

Friday morning's jobs report contained some good news with the bad, but analysts doubt there's enough strength in either direction to influence the upcoming presidential election. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the unemployment rate rose slightly to 7.9 percent in October from 7.8 percent in September. Even though the rate increased, the upward movement was due to a rise in entrants into the labor market, not a decrease in jobs. In a response from Capital Economics, economist Paul Ashworth wrote, ""Overall, this report is sure to be spun politically by both sides."" Economist Nigel Gault at IHS Global Insight said, ""Politically there was something for both presidential candidates to grab onto.""

The Supreme Court of Ohio ruled Wednesday that in order to file a foreclosure against a homeowner, a lender must prove standing at the time they first file. The case, Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. v. Schwartzwald, was brought before the Ohio Supreme Court after a lower court ruled in favor of Freddie Mac's right to file foreclosure without proof of standing.

Fixed mortgage rates fell back slightly to start November as investors anxiously wait for signs of which direction the economy is headed. According to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey the average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 3.39 percent (0.7 point) for the week ending November 1, down from 3.41 percent in the previous week. The 15-year fixed average for the week was 2.70 percent (0.7 point), a slip from 2.72 percent in the last survey. Bankrate.com's weekly survey also demonstrated decreases all around.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac servicers will be able to skip a step when attempting to get a short sale or deed-in-lieu of foreclosure approved. On Wednesday, the GSEs announced standard delegation agreements were reached with nine mortgage insurers to allow servicers to approve of short sales and deeds-in-lieu without a separate review process with the mortgage insurer. The agreement takes effect November 1, along with additional short sale guidelines the GSEs announced in August.

Homeowners with mortgages guaranteed by Freddie Mac may be eligible for payment relief if they are located in an area that has been devastated by Hurricane Sandy.

The projected taxpayer cost to preserve the profitability of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is lower now that the GSEs are not expected to draw from Treasury to pay dividends and home prices are increasing, according to a report from the Federal Housing Finance Agency. So far, the GSEs have drawn $187.5 billion from Treasury. When assessing potential Treasury draws under three different scenarios, FHFA projects Treasury draws will range from $191 billion to $209 billion at the end of 2015, or an additional $3 to $22 billion in support.

Mortgage rate movement this week was ""so slight it was almost nonexistent,"" according to data from Freddie Mac and Bankrate.com. Freddie Mac's survey showed a bit of movement in fixed rates, with the 30-year fixed averaging 3.41 percent (0.7 point), up from 3.37 percent in the previous survey. The 15-year fixed averaged 2.72 percent (0.6 point), up from 2.66 percent. Bankrate's weekly survey revealed even smaller changes: The 30-year fixed dropped to 3.61 percent from 3.62 percent last week, while the 15-year fixed slid to 2.90 percent from 2.91 percent before.

The authenticity of this year's recovery may still be in question, but according to Freddie Mac's Economic and Housing Market Outlook for October, the housing sector is showing strength unmatched in previous years. Over the past several years, housing has either hurt or done little to help GDP. ""However, now we're seeing housing resuming its traditional role of leading the recovery charge and once again being the bright spot in the economy,"" said Frank Nothaft, VP and chief economist for Freddie Mac.

Nearly 99,000 homeowners refinanced their mortgages in August through the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP), the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) said Tuesday. Since the beginning of this year, when a broader group of borrowers were made eligible for the program, the federal government's HARP initiative has put 618,217 homeowners with loans owned by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac into new mortgages with lower interest rates. According to FHFA, HARP is on target to reach a million borrowers in 2012.