March 28, 2011 (Shirley Allen)

Government backed mortgage giant Freddie Mac reports the seriously delinquent rate, mortgages that are 90 days or more delinquent or in foreclosure, of single family homes fell to 3.78 percent in February, while the multifamily delinquency rate, mortgages that are 60 days or more delinquent or in foreclosure, increased to 0.36 percent.

February’s single family home delinquency rate is down from 3.82 percent in January and down from 4.20 percent in February 2010. Multifamily delinquencies in February are up from 0.28 percent in January and up from 0.23 percent from a year earlier.

The February Monthly Summary Report also revealed that so far this year, Freddie Mac has completed 23,017 loan modifications for the first two months of the year. February’s loan modifications totaled 11,885, while January’s total was 11,153 loan modifications completed.

Also in February, single-family, refinance-loan purchase and guarantee volume hit $31.4 billion, representing 81% of total mortgage purchases and issuances. That compares to last month when the single-family refinance-loan purchase and guarantee volume was $32.4 billion or 83% of total loan volume.

The aggregate unpaid balance on all of Freddie Mac’s mortgage-related portfolios increased by $1.3 billion, while total mortgage-related securities and other guarantee commitments decreased at an annualized rate of 1.7% in February. The total mortgage portfolio increased at an annualized rate of 0.1 percent in February.

Tags: Freddie Mac, monthly summary report, delinquency rate, single-family homes, multi-family, loan modifications, refinance-loan purchases, mortgage portfolio