Freddie Mac Mortgage Portfolio in March Rise

Freddie Mac, the second largest funder of US home loans on Friday announced that its agreement to purchase mortgages rose to its highest level in March after its regulator eased capital constraints.

The Office of Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFEO) had reduced constraints for both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, as a way to provide stability to the worsening U.S. mortgage and housing markets by increasing the purchasing power of the two government sponsored enterprises by $200 billion.

In the month of March, Freddie Mac entered contracts to buy loans worth $43.5 billion, sharply up from $14.8 billion in February. As a result, the firm's portfolio increased to $712.5 billion in March from $709.5 billion in February. At an annualized rate, the total mortgage portfolio has increased 9.9% in March and 8.9% year-to-date.

Despite the positives, delinquencies on Freddie Mac backed loans continued to rise. The delinquency rate rose to 0.74 percent of the loans in February, the most since November 2004, from 0.43 percent a year earlier, the company said.