Fannie Mae purchased $41.4 billion of home mortgages from its seller/servicers in June, its best purchase month of the second quarter, and a sign that originations in the primary market may be on the upswing.
Although the purchase figure looks good compared to most months this year, it is down significantly compared to June 2010 when Fannie bought $60 billion of product form its mortgage banking customers.
Refinancings continue to dominate the application pipeline of mortgage firms, though some are starting to see a noticeable increase of purchase money loans, thanks to low rates and the fact that in some markets it's becoming cheaper to own than rent.
Year to date, Fannie has purchased $306 billion of home mortgages.
At the end of June the GSE's mortgage holdings totaled $731 billion, an 11% decline over the past 12 months.
