Content about Freddie Mac

First-quarter economic data from the office of the chief economist at Freddie Mac showed a 2.2% growth rate, slower than the previous quarter, but better than three of the past four quarters. The slower growth primarily reflected less housing inventory accumulation and a dip in nonresidential construction. Personal consumption expenditures grew at a 15.3% annual rate, reflecting continuing strength in consumer durables (such as cars and kitchen appliances). Also, residential fixed investment (RFI) added 0.4 percentage points to the quarter’s economic growth.

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) has announced a comprehensive reform plan for the housing finance system that would transition Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to a new mortgage securitization system for single-family and multi-family conventional mortgages.

The National Lumber and Building Material Dealers Association (NLBMDA) applauded Congress for reinstating the higher conforming loan limits for the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) through 2013, helping reduce uncertainty for an already fragile housing market. 

By increasing the loan limits guaranteed by FHA to $729,750, Congress has taken a step to stabilize home values while enabling creditworthy consumers to get home loans with the best mortgage rates, lowest fees and better down payment requirements, the NLBMDA said.

In an attempt to shore up the housing market and also provide more affordable rentals, the federal government is considering the idea of turning some of the 250,000 foreclosed homes it owns into rental units. On Aug. 10, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced it was seeking public input on “new options” for selling single-family homes owned by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. 

The Obama administration released its housing "white paper," which advocates big changes in the U.S. mortgage markets. One change: wind down the role of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.  

If housing starts are going to gain 20% in 2011 as recently predicted, they're going to have to pick up the pace.

Data released Wednesday morning show housing starts in December were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 529,000 -- that's down 4.3% from November and down 8.2% from the December 2009 rate. 

For the full year, the total number of starts finished at 598,200, slightly ahead of 2009's record low of 583,000.