New business at the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. during the final month of 2012 dropped by nearly half. But annual activity was the best it’s been in three years. Delinquency on loans secured by apartment buildings fell to a 38-month low.
Last month saw $33.640 billion in purchases and issuances at the secondary lender, according to monthly operational data released Friday.
Volume sank from November, when Freddie Mac generated $62.545 billion in purchases and issuances. But activity rose from $30.713 billion in December 2011.
Fourth-quarter volume totaled $146.214 billion, better than $112.919 billion in the third quarter and $102.221 billion in the same three months during 2011.
For all of 2012, purchases and issuances totaled $473.801 billion. Activity improved from 2011, when the McLean, Va.-based company’s volume was $361.047 billion. Last year was the strongest year since 2009, when secondary activity amounted to $548.368 billion.
Freddie’s total mortgage portfolio fell to $1.9563 trillion at the end of 2012 from $1.9775 trillion a month earlier and $2.0754 trillion at the end of 2011.
Last month’s total reflected an investment portfolio of $0.5575 trillion and $1.3987 trillion in outstanding participation certificates.
Delinquency of at least 90 days on the residential portion of Freddie’s total portfolio was 3.25 percent, the same as of Nov. 30. But the government-controlled enterprise has reduced the rate from 3.58 percent as of Dec. 31, 2011.
At 0.19 percent, multifamily delinquency of at least 60 days was lower than the 0.24 percent rate as of Nov. 30 and the lowest it’s been since November 2009, when it was also 0.19 percent. Multifamily delinquency was 0.22 percent as of Dec. 31, 2011.
