Freddie Mac delivered a net income of $3.1 billion from July through September, raising the net worth of the government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) to $56 billion in what its CEO called “another strong quarter.”
Freddie’s Q3 net income represents an annual increase of $400 million, driven chiefly by a drop in non-interest expenses to mark the GSE’s strongest quarter of 2024. Its newly reported net worth, meanwhile, is an upward bump of 3% year over year, boosted by higher net interest income.
The third quarter was also a good period for loan volume, with lower mortgage rates lifting both purchase and refi movement to bring the quarter’s single-family new business activity to $98 billion in unpaid principal balance (UPB). That’s up from $85 billion in the third quarter of 2023 to reach the highest level this year. The GSE financed some 284,000 single-family homes, including 235,000 purchase borrowers (representing roughly $84 billion in UPB) and 49,000 refinance borrowers ($14 billion). Fifty-one percent of Q3’s new business went toward financing affordable homes to low- and moderate-income families, and 51% went toward funding first-time homebuyers.
Freddie’s single-family mortgage portfolio now sits at $3.08 trillion, up 2% annually.
The multifamily side saw a stout Q3 as well, with new business activity of $15 billion (up yearly from $13 billion) and a mortgage portfolio of $452 billion (up 5% year over year).
Over the course of the third quarter, Freddie provided the residential market with $113 billion in liquidity.
“The company helped 415,000 families buy, refinance or rent a home, including 110,000 first-time homebuyers,” noted Diana Reid, Freddie Mac’s CEO. “We expanded support for renters, including by establishing a new grace period for rent payments. We also are providing relief to homeowners and resources for renters affected by recent hurricanes.”
Freddie has been busy in recent days, announcing several new policies or enhancements to existing ones, including an expansion of its well-received pilot offering a fee-based alternative to loan repurchase requests.
