Tag Archives: Freddie Mac

As home equity grows, more Americans are tapping into that equity more often when refinancing their homes, according to the latest quarterly refinance analysis report from Freddie Mac. In fact, the share of borrowers tapping their equity by cashing out at the time of refinancing has doubled from the same quarter last year as house price appreciation has risen across the country.

Freddie Mac's board of directors gained a new member, with mortgage banking and finance veteran Thomas M. Goldstein elected to the role.

According to the company's volume summary, Freddie Mac's total portfolio grew last month at an annualized rate of 2.2 percent, bringing the year-to-date average growth rate to -1.1 percent. The only other time the portfolio came up positive this year was in July, when it expanded at a rate of just 0.1 percent.

Freddie Mac's Multi-Indicator Market Index (MiMi) slipped 0.19 percent from July to a reading of 73.3 in August, the company reported. With the drop, the index's three-month measure showed a 0.47 percent decline. Despite August's headline decline, analysts at Freddie Mac say the MiMi is showing promising trends, especially at the local level.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) reported Thursday that U.S. house prices rose a seasonally adjusted 0.5 percent month-over-month in August. On a year-over-year basis, FHFA's price index was up 4.8 percent, putting it roughly in line with its August 2005 level and 5.8 percent below its peak in April 2007.

According to a report released this week by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), total refinance volumes at Fannie and Freddie came to 131,075 in August, up more than 11,000 from July as mortgage rates slipped slightly to an average 4.12 percent. While overall refinancing activity increased, however, the number of refinances completed through HARP fell again to a combined 14,066—accounting for about 11 percent of total volume compared to July's 13 percent.

In a speech on Monday, FHFA Director Mel Watt outlined the next steps the agency is taking to expand Americans' access to mortgage credit while ensuring that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are equipped to manage risk.

Citing "people familiar with the matter," the Wall Street Journal reported Friday that the two GSEs and their conservator are nearing an agreement with lenders that would set clearer definitions of when a loan is considered to be in breach of GSE selling requirements. The agreement could be announced as soon as next week, according to the publication.

In California, First American Financial Corporation announced that its Mortgage Solutions group has been named a distributor of Freddie Mac's Home Value Suite.

Freddie Mac released Thursday the results of its weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey, showing the average 30-year fixed interest rate dropping 15 basis points to 3.97 percent (0.5 point) for the week ending October 16. The week's average marks the lowest level for the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) since the week of June 20, 2013—which also happens to be the last time it averaged below 4 percent.