Real estate investment trusts increased their holdings of agency MBS during the fourth quarter of 2018, capping a solid year of growth, according to an Inside MBS & ABS analysis. [Includes one data chart.]

New production of agency single-family MBS fell for the sixth month in a row in Febru-ary, sinking to the lowest monthly output in nearly five years. [Includes two data charts.]

The average daily trading volume in agency MBS spiked northward in January, increasing 18.3% on a sequential basis, according to figures compiled by the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association.

The overall mortgage securitization rate fell slightly in 2018, with 70.0% of home loans originated in the primary market ending up in MBS pools, according to an Inside MBS & ABS analysis. [Includes one data chart.]

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac racked up $25.19 billion in combined net income in 2018, their most profitable year since 2013, when earnings were inflated by accounting rules for deferred tax assets. [Includes one data chart.]

New production of single-family MBS started the new year on a downbeat, with combined issuance by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae slipping to $80.72 billion in January, ac-cording to a new Inside MBS & ABS ranking and analysis. [Includes two data charts.]

An estimated $9.6 billion of Ginnie Mae securities backed by FHA-insured reverse mortgages were issued in 2018, down from $10.5 billion a year ago, according to New View Advisors.

New mortgage- and asset-backed securitiza-tion production totaled $1.504 trillion in 2018, the lowest annual output in five years, an exclusive new analysis by Inside MBS & ABS reveals. [Includes three data charts.]

After having initially been brushed off as unnecessary, a pilot program that allowed Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae to help finance single-family rental activity is now being hailed a success.

Seasonal factors slowed production of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac MBS during the fourth quarter, although the refi sector showed some resilience in cash-out transactions. [Includes three data charts.]