Business Slips Again at Freddie Mac

The growth rate on ""Freddie Mac's"":http://www.freddiemac.com/ mortgage portfolio dipped back into negative numbers again in May, the GSE reported in its monthly volume summary.

According to the report, the total mortgage portfolio shrank at an annualized rate of 3.0 percent last month, bringing the average monthly growth rate year-to-date to a negative value of 1.5 percent. The portfolio grew at an estimate rate of 0.6 percent in April.

Purchases and issuances also fell, dropping to about $42.4 billion from $47.3 billion the prior month.

As of the end of May, the portfolio's ending balance was approximately $1.94 trillion.

Meanwhile, the portfolio of mortgage-related securities and other guarantees grew at an annualized rate of 2.2 percent, once again halving month-over-month (April's growth rate was an estimated 4.1 percent, less than half of March's growth).

Single-family refinance loan purchase and guarantee volume came out to $30.5 billion last month, representing 72 percent of total mortgage portfolio purchases or issuances. Relief refinance mortgages made up about 33 percent of total refinance volume (based on unpaid principal balance).

Delinquency also continued to fall. Freddie Mac's single-family serious delinquency rate declined to 2.85 percent, while the multifamily delinquency rate was down to 0.08 percent.

Freddie Mac reported 6,165 loan modifications in May. Year-to-date, the company has recorded 32,846 modifications.