Tag Archives: Freddie Mac

Over the past four years since the recession ended, GDP has grown only 9 percent, Freddie Mac revealed in a recent analysis. At the current rate, the ""U.S. has experienced the weakest economic recovery coming out of a recession in the Post-War era,"" said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac VP and chief economist. Despite the ""frustratingly slow"" growth rate, the GSE expects the housing sector to aid the sluggish economic recovery in three ways.

Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey showed the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaging 4.40 percent (0.7 point) for the week ending August 15, flat from last week. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 3.62 percent. The 15-year FRM this week averaged 3.44 percent (0.6 point), up very slightly from 3.43 percent in the last survey. Bankrate.com also reported slight movements in average fixed rates.

Homeowners who refinance continue to overwhelmingly opt for fixed-rate mortgages, and by historical standards, fewer homeowners are using refinances as a means of putting more cash in their pockets, according to Freddie Mac's 2013 Second Quarter Refinance Report. More than 95 percent of homeowners who refinanced their mortgage loans in the second quarter of this year chose fixed-rate loans. At the same time, ""[t]he cash-out amount, while increasing, continues to remain low by historical standards,"" according to Frank Nothaft, VP and chief economist at Freddie Mac.

Freddie Mac recently celebrated 20 years of providing multifamily financing to support affordability. During the 20-year period, the GSE has backed the multifamily market through $300 billion in apartment funding for 60,000 properties.

Even as the single-family housing market recovers, apartment properties should still be a solid investment in most markets going forward, according to Freddie Mac's analysts. In its mid-year multifamily outlook for 2013, the mortgage giant notes that multifamily market fundamentals such as rents and vacancies continue to improve, with New York, San Francisco, Denver, Seattle, and Los Angeles all seeing marked growth.

It was a mixed week for mortgage rate reports following the release of July's employment numbers, which showed job growth coming in below the market consensus forecast. According to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 4.40 percent (0.7 point) for the week ending August 8, up from 4.39 percent last week. The 15-year FRM averaged 3.43 percent (0.7 point), unchanged from the previous survey.

Freddie Mac had a banner second quarter, pulling in its second-largest profit in company history, the enterprise reported Wednesday. According to Freddie Mac's quarterly earnings report, Q2 2013 net income totaled $5.0 billion, up about $407 million over the first quarter. Comprehensive income was $4.4 billion compared to Q1's $7.0 billion.

During the question and answer session hosted by Zillow, President Obama reiterated his stated goals to bring a gradual end to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, to bring private capital into the housing market, and to offer affordable housing options--both rental options and 30-year mortgages. ""We're actually confident that the private market can step in, do a good job, and the government can be a backstop,"" Obama said, adding, ""In some ways it's a return to earlier models.""

In a speech Tuesday, President Barack Obama will stress the need for a new housing finance system based on specific core principles that include putting private capital first, ending Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's ""failed business model,"" and ensuring broad access to the 30-year fixed rate mortgage, according to a fact sheet from the White House. ""Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac should be wound down through a responsible transition, and the government role during normal times should be no bigger than necessary to achieve the principles laid out here,"" officials stated in the fact sheet released prior to the speaking event in Phoenix.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are eliminating the $500 incentive for competed borrower response packages starting August 1, according to separate bulletins issued by the GSEs. The GSEs also announced servicer incentives for Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) modifications will increase starting April 1, 2014.