The growth came largely from purchase-mortgage lending.

The seasonal boost in agency purchase-mortgage business helped spur a hefty increase in correspondent-originated loans in May.

Most of the increase in Freddie buybacks in the first quarter of this year came from loans that were securitized in 2023, which totaled $219.1 million and represented 65.8% of Freddie repurchases in early 2024.

Agency MBS held in portfolio at REITs that focus on mortgage assets slid 1.8% to $168.47 billion as of the end of the first quarter of 2024.

After a sharp drop in the fourth quarter, seller repurchases of Freddie loans rose substantially in early 2024. Fannie, however, reported a decline in seller buybacks. (Includes three data tables.)

Most REITs reported declines in the fair value of their agency MBS during the first quarter of 2024. Non-agency MBS holdings were up, as were net TBA positions. (Includes two data tables.)

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac issued $428.04 billion of Supers deals backed by first-level uniform MBS during the first quarter of 2024.

The top three bank ABS investors reported a combined 12% decline in their holdings during the first quarter. But ABS investment was up at PNC Bank, Capital One and Radius Bank. (Includes two data tables.)

Although Fannie saw a 20% decline in Supers MBS issuance in the first quarter, Fed data show a substantial increase in the central bank’s “aggregated” holdings of Fannie securities. (Includes two data tables.)

Several companies increased origination volume, posted stronger gain-on-sale margins and reported rising values for mortgage servicing rights.