Freddie Mac Reports January Mortgage Activity

- Freddie Mac's mortgage funding for January totaled $36 billion, and its mortgage-related investments portfolio had an ending balance of $137 billion. - The government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) operates in the secondary mortgage market by purchasing mortgages from lenders and then packaging them into mortgage-backed securities (MBS) to sell to investors. This process provides liquidity to the mortgage market. - The report listed a single-family serious delinquency rate (90+ days) of 0.60%. This comes as broader data shows early-stage delinquencies (30-59 days past due) have been rising year-over-year, indicating growing repayment pressure on some homeowners. - For its single-family acquisitions, 65% were for home purchases and 35% were for refinances. This activity occurred as the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage hovered around 6.1% during the month. - As a GSE, Freddie Mac is regulated by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) and has a congressional charter to support the U.S. housing market; it does not originate loans directly to homebuyers. - The entity guarantees the timely payment of principal and interest on the MBS it issues, which involves managing significant interest rate and credit risk on its portfolio. - Together, Freddie Mac and its counterpart Fannie Mae play a vital role in the housing finance system, supporting the majority of the U.S. mortgage market.