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Tag Archives: Freddie Mac

Freddie Mac’s Portfolio Grows Slightly in May, Still Shrinking Overall

Increases in all aspects of Freddie Mac's total mortgage portfolio led to a higher (but still negative) annualized growth rate, according to the GSE's Monthly Volume Summary for May. The summary showed that Freddie Mac's total mortgage portfolio for the month shrank at an annualized rate of 9.4 percent, a drop from 14.1 percent in April but still far above March's 2.9 percent contraction rate. The negative annualized growth rate YTD is 6.8 percent.

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FHFA Resists Transfer Taxes in Illinois and Files Suit

The Federal Housing Finance Agency filed suit Friday against Illinois tax officials for imposing unlawful taxes on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Several Illinois counties have attempted to collect transfer taxes from the GSEs, and some have threatened to reject future property transfers from the enterprises if they do not pay the state and county transfer taxes. Illinois officials have demanded transfer fees from both enterprises. Similar claims and demands have been made from other Illinois counties.

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Fitch: Clarifying Repurchase Triggers Will Aid Housing Recovery

Fitch Ratings released a commentary Thursday asserting that FHFA's plan to clarify the triggers for a loan repurchase request could be a boon for the industry at large. FHFA had made an earlier announcement that the agency intended to clarify its positions on the appropriate triggers for a putback request from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The GSEs have asked for more than $80 billion in flawed loan repurchases from lenders over the past three years. As a result, it has been argued that lenders have raised standards for loans beyond what many homebuyers can achieve. In the commentary, Fitch suggested that laying out putback triggers and reducing putback liability will have an overall positive effect for the housing market.

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Mortgage Rates Take Another Record Dive

According to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS), average mortgage rates are easing, even in the face of troubling economic signs. The 30-year FRM averaged 3.66 (0.7 point) for the week ending June 21, down from 3.71 percent the previous week. At the same time in 2011, the 30-year FRM averaged 4.5 percent. The 15-year FRM averaged 2.95 percent (0.6 point), down from 2.98 percent in the last survey and a year-over-year drop from 3.69 percent. Adjustable rate mortgages (ARM) both slipped down, as well.

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Why Rental Activity Remains ‘A Bright Spot’ for Housing

The Enterprise's report, released Tuesday, showed that newly formed households seem more interested in renting over owning as the economy struggles to get back on its feet. The report showed that over the year ending March 2012, an additional 1.5 million households moved into rental housing, a 4 percent increase in a year. The Census Bureau has also reported that rental vacancy rates in buildings with at least five apartments have dropped more than two percentage points over the past two years. In addition, both Reis and Axiometrics have reported increases in occupancy rates during the two years through the first quarter of 2012.

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FHFA Introduces Initiative to Protect Against Fraud

As an additional measure against fraud, the FHFA announced an initiative requiring Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Home Loan (FHL) Banks to notify the agency when an act of fraud is committed by an individual or company the regulated entities conduct business with. The initiative is called the Suspended Counterparty Program and will take effect August 15, 2012. The FHFA stated it is taking this additional step to ensure the regulated companies are not exposed to unnecessary risk from business dealings involving those who have a history of fraudulent conduct.

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FHFA: Foreclosure Prevention Actions=2.3M, Foreclosure Starts Up

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac completed nearly 2.3 million foreclosure prevention actions by from the start of their conservatorship to the end of March 2012, according to FHFA'ss Foreclosure Prevention Report for first-quarter 2012. The report, released Friday, showed that over 1.9 million of the foreclosure prevention actions undertaken by the GSEs have helped borrowers keep their homes. Moreover, half of borrowers who received loan modifications in Q1 2012 had their monthly payments reduced by more than 30 percent, with one third of those including principal forbearance.

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Freddie Mac: Fixed Rates Bounce Up from Record Lows

Following an earlier survey from Zillow showing that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) had again hit a new low, Freddie Mac released on Thursday the results of its Primary Market Mortgage Survey (PMMS), which showed an increase in fixed mortgage rates after a month of a half of record lows. The PMMS found that the 30-year fixed for the week ending June 14 averaged 3.71 percent (0.7 point), an increase from 3.67 percent the previous week. This increase ended a six-week streak of falling rates. At the same time last year, the 30-year fixed rate averaged 4.50 percent.

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SIFMA Encourages Alignment of GSE Operations

In a letter filed Wednesday to FHFA, the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) expressed its view that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac should seek to align their operations as much as possible. The alignment would help set the stage and ease transition into the future for the GSEs, SIFMA suggests. SIFMA also submitted a list of steps and goals of FHFA's Strategic Plan to coordinate the GSEs and says they will require communication, careful planning, and a focus on the Enterprises' core activities from the industry at every stage.

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GSEs Will Continue Reporting Credit Losses: FHFA

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have and will continue to realize credit losses due to mortgages originated years before the conservatorship when the GSEs were deemed critical supervisory concerns, FHFA stated in its annual Report to Congress. In 2011, Fannie and Freddie borrowed $33.6 billion from Treasury, an increase from the year before when $28 billion was drawn. Of the $33.6 billion, $16.1 billion was used to fund dividend payments back to Treasury. The losses leading to the $17.5 billion drawn from Treasury were due to business decisions made by the GSEs in the pre-conservatorship days. Overall, the GSEs have drawn $187.5 billion from Treasury as of the end of 2011.

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