Freddie Mac Portfolio Growth Slowed in January

Freddie Mac reported this week that its total mortgage portfolio increased at an annualized rate of 1.2 percent in January, down from 6.6 percent the previous month.  The portfolio balance at the end of the period was $2.184 trillion compared to $2.182 trillion at the end of December and $2.095 trillion a year earlier.  

Purchases and Issuances totaled $23.713 billion and Sales were ($909.0) billion. The December numbers were $35.155 billion and ($2.351) billion respectively.  The 1.2 percent annualized growth rate for January was considerably higher than the January 2018 rate of 0.3 percent.

Purchases in Freddie Mac's Mortgage Related Investments Portfolio totaled $17.282 billion for the month compared to $29.506 billion in December. Liquidations were ($2.009) billion and ($2.309) billion for January and December respectively and Sales for the two periods were ($14.434) billion and ($31.078) billion.  The ending balance in the portfolio was $218,919 billion and the annualized growth rate was 4.6 percent compared to 11.4 percent a year earlier.

The ending balance of the Mortgage Related Investments Portfolio was composed of $121.427 billion in Mortgage Related Securities, Mortgage Loans valued at $91.423 billion, Non-Agency, non-Freddie Mac Mortgage-Related Securities at $2.319 billion; and Agency non-Freddie Mac Mortgage related securities of $3.79 billion. Mortgage related securities and other guarantee commitments increased at an annualized rate of 1.5 percent compared to 7.9 percent in December. 

Freddie Mac's single-family delinquency rate ticked up just a hair to 70 basis points from 69 basis points in December. In January 2018 the rate was 1.07 percent. The rate for credit-enhanced Primary Mortgage Insurance loans was unchanged at 86 basis points while the non-credit enhanced rate increased from 83 basis points to 84. The multi-family delinquency rate was 0.01 percent, as it has been for nine straight months.  The rate in January 2018 was 0.02 percent.