Fannie Mae acquired $55.3 billion of mortgages from its seller/servicers in September, its best purchase month since March, and a sign that loan production is gaining traction in the primary market.
On a sequential basis purchases rose 25%, but compared to the same month a year ago were off by 30%.
(Meanwhile, early Tuesday morning the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond had fallen below 2% again -- from 2.4% last week -- over new concerns about the Greek debt crisis.)
Year to date, the GSE has purchased $445 billion of product.
Its single-family delinquency rate continued to fall during the month, ending at 4% compared to 4.03% in August and 4.56% a year ago.
However, late payments on Fannie-backed multifamily loans rose to 57 basis points from 43 bps in August. A year ago late payments on apartment loans were at 65 bps.
The GSE closed September with a retained portfolio of $722 billion, a 10% decline from a year ago. It is scheduled to report earnings in the next week or so.
