Freddie Mac purchased $28 billion of mortgages from its seller/servicers in August, a 33% spike from the prior month, and a clear sign that originations are picking up in the primary market.
The GSE reported that purchase activity rebounded to its highest level since February when a refinance boom was on its last legs.
Freddie said 59% of its loan purchases in August involved refinanced loans, the same as in July. (In July Freddie purchased only $12.2 billion of refinancings.)
Freddie reported that MBS issuance jumped as well – up 45% in August on a sequential basis to $26 billion.
Meanwhile, the serious delinquency rate (90 days or more past due) on Freddie-guaranteed loans fell 2 basis points month-over-month to 3.49%. In July, the serious delinquency rate ticked up 1 bp to 3.51%.
