Refis Made up More Than Half of Freddie Mac December Business

Freddie Mac reported this week that its total mortgage portfolio increased at an annualized rate of 15.2 percent in December, a substantial change from the 0.4 percent gain in November.  The portfolio balance at the end of the period was $2.33 trillion compared to $2.302 trillion at the end of November and $2.182 trillion a year earlier. The growth rate for all of 2019 was 6.8 percent.

Purchases and Issuances totaled $65.80 billion and Sales were ($780) billion. The November numbers were $55.45 billion and ($5.63) billion respectively. 

Single-family refinance loan purchase and guarantee volume was $30.5 billion in December compared to $26.8 billion in November and representing a 56 percent share of total single-family mortgage portfolio purchases and issuances compared to 59 percent the previous month.

Purchases in Freddie Mac's Mortgage Related Investments Portfolio totaled $43.39 billion for the month compared to $37.38 billion in November. Liquidations were ($2.88) billion and ($3.16) billion for December and November respectively and Sales for the two periods were ($32.39) and ($46,50) billion. The ending balance in the portfolio was $212.67 billion about $8.1 billion higher than in November.

The Mortgage Related Investments Portfolio's annualized growth rate turned positive in December. After it posted negative returns of 25.9 percent and 67.9 percent in October and November respectively, it posted a 47.7 percent increase in December. The growth in December 2018 was also negative at (21.0 percent) The growth rate for all of 2019 was (2.5 percent).

The ending balance of the Mortgage Related Investments Portfolio was composed of $118.65 billion in Mortgage Related Securities, Mortgage Loans valued at $83.65 billion, Non-Agency, non-Freddie Mac Mortgage-Related Securities at $1.63 billion; and Agency non-Freddie Mac Mortgage related securities of $8.75 billion. Mortgage related securities and other guarantee commitments increased at an annualized rate of 12.0 percent compared to 7.5 percent the previous month.

Freddie Mac's single-family delinquency rate was up 1 basis point to 0.63. In December 2018 the rate was 0.69 percent. The rate for credit-enhanced Primary Mortgage Insurance loans was up 1 basis point to 0.79 percent while the non-credit portion notched down 2 basis points to 0.70 percent. The multi-family delinquency rate was 0.08 percent, having risen 0.07 point since the first of the year.

Freddie Mac said the measure of its exposure to changes in portfolio value averaged $5 million in December, down from $29 million in November.