Freddie Mac Portfolio Growth Slowed Slightly, Delinquencies Down

Freddie Mac reported this week that its total mortgage portfolio increased at an annualized rate of 6.2 percent in April, declining from 8.0 percent the previous month.  The portfolio balance at the end of the period was $2.216 trillion compared to $2.204 trillion at the end of March and $2.109 trillion a year earlier.  

Purchases and Issuances totaled $36.071billion and Sales were ($1.204) billion. The March numbers were $37.311 billion and ($3.048) billion respectively.  The annualized growth rate for the year-to-date is 4.6 percent.

Single-family refinance loan purchase and guarantee volume was $11.2 billion in April, representing 37 percent of total single-family mortgage portfolio purchases and issuances.  Both numbers were virtually unchanged from March.

Purchases in Freddie Mac's Mortgage Related Investments Portfolio totaled $24.896 billion for the month compared to $23.641 billion in March. Liquidations were ($2.402) billion and ($1.963) billion for April and March respectively and Sales for the two periods were ($24.948) billion and ($21.877) billion.  The ending balance in the portfolio was $216.486 billion, down $2.5 billion in March.  The annualized growth rate was (13.4) percent compared to (3.4) percent a year earlier.

The ending balance of the Mortgage Related Investments Portfolio was composed of $120.987 billion in Mortgage Related Securities, Mortgage Loans valued at $89.170 billion, Non-Agency, non-Freddie Mac Mortgage-Related Securities at $2.250 billion; and Agency non-Freddie Mac Mortgage related securities of $4.079 billion. Mortgage related securities and other guarantee commitments increased at an annualized rate of 7.2 percent compared to 9.3 percent the previous month.    

Freddie Mac's single-family delinquency rate dipped down 2 basis points (bps) to 0.65 percent. In April 2018 the rate was 0.94 percent.  The rate for credit-enhanced Primary Mortgage Insurance loans and the non-credit enhanced eacg fell 3 bps to 0.79 percent for both.  The multi-family delinquency rate was 0.03 percent for the second month compared to 0.01 percent in April 2018.