$157.1 billion 4th quarter business purchases
By MortgageDaily.com staff
1/24/2006

Quarterly volume waned, but 2005 secondary purchases improved over the prior year for Freddie Mac.

New business purchases of $58.8 billion during December were 11% higher than the prior month and were 40% better than in December 2004, according to Freddie's monthly volume summary report.

Fourth quarter purchases of $157.1 billion dropped $9.6 billion from the previous three-month period, the report said.

However, in all of 2005, Freddie bought a reported $581.9 billion in new business, up from $494.6 billion a year earlier.

The McLean, Va.-based company said its $1.7 trillion total mortgage portfolio as of Dec. 31, 2005, was made up of a $0.7 trillion retained portfolio and nearly $1.0 trillion in outstanding participation certificates.

The 90+ day delinquency rate, which the secondary lender reports on a one-month lag, rose 8 basis points from October to 0.68% in November -- the highest rate since February.

Unchanged throughout the entire year, the average duration gap remained at zero months in December, according to the report. The duration gap is the balance of Freddie's cash flows from assets and liabilities.

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