New business acquisitions tumbled 20 percent last month at Federal National Mortgage Association. But late payments on residential loans improved again and have been lower each of the past 23 months. Past-due payments on apartment loans also fell.
Secondary volume was $63.876 billion during January, according to monthly operational data released Wednesday.
Business dropped from $79.907 billion during the final month of last year. Activity also slowed from the first month of 2011, when new business acquisitions totaled $73.841 billion.
Fannie Mae’s book of business continued to diminish, finishing last month at $3.1813 trillion. The balance was $3.1845 trillion as of the end of last year and $3.2212 trillion as of Jan. 31, 2011.
The latest total included a mortgage investment portfolio of $0.6993 trillion and $2.4819 trillion in outstanding mortgage-backed securities.
Serious delinquency on home loans was 3.90 percent as of Jan. 31, a basis point lower than in December. The 90-day rate was 4.45 percent a year earlier.
Fannie’s residential delinquency has not increased in any month since February 2010, when the rate was a revised record 5.59 percent.
Multifamily late payments of at least 60 days also retreated, declining to 0.52 percent from 0.59 percent as of Dec. 31, 2011. The multifamily default rate was 0.69 percent in January 2011.
