After tumbling in December, secondary marketing activity at the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. made up some of the lost ground the following month. Home-loan delinquency, meanwhile, fell to its lowest level in more than three years.
In January, Freddie Mac’s purchases and issuances amounted to $43.119 billion, according to monthly operational data released Thursday.
Business improved from December, when volume sank to $31.288 from $60.230 in November.
In January 2012, secondary activity at the McLean, Va.-based firm was $34.381 billion.
Freddie continued to whittle down its total mortgage portfolio, which was trimmed to $1.9484 trillion as of Jan. 31 from $1.9563 trillion at the end of December and $2.0671 trillion as of Jan. 31, 2012.
The most-recent total portfolio reflected $1.3984 trillion in outstanding participation certificates and an $0.5500 trillion investment portfolio.
Ninety-day residential delinquency finished January at 3.20 percent, dropping 5 basis points from the end of 2012.
The last time serious delinquency was this low was in August 2009, when it was 3.13 percent.
Residential delinquency was 3.59 percent at the same point last year.
Multifamily delinquency of at least 60 days edged down to 0.18 percent from 0.19 percent as of Dec. 31 and 0.21 percent as of a year earlier.
