The monthly issuance of mortgage-backed securities by the Government National Mortgage Association reached the highest level in nearly three years, and it looks like more improvement is ahead for the housing finance agency. Fiscal-year 2012 is poised to finish with an increase over the previous year.
The government-owned corporation reported that it guaranteed $39.57 billion in MBS during August. It was the best month since December 2009, when issuances totaled in excess of $42.4 billion — a near-record (the record-high of $45.6 billion was reached in July 2009).
Ginnie Mae’s business grew from July, when issuances amounted to $32.04 billion. The gain was even more impressive compared to a year earlier, when issuances amounted to only $27.7 billion.
“While it is clear that the housing market is slowly stabilizing, it is also clear that the secondary market still needs to security of the Ginnie Mae MBS,” Ginnie Mae President Ted Tozer said in the report. “This is the highest monthly issuance in nearly three years.”
Issuances continued higher in September based on fixed-rate issuance, which climbed to $35.828 billion from August’s $35.586 billion, according to eMBS.
Ginnie’s year-to-date fiscal issuance reached $348.94 billion. When Ginnie releases its September volume statistics, issuance for all of fiscal-year 2012 will likely have exceeded the $350.4 billion issued by Ginnie in fiscal-year 2011.
During the period from Jan. 1 through Aug. 31, the Washington, D.C.-based corporation guaranteed $266.51 billion in MBS.
Total single-family issuance accounted for $37.64 billion of August activity, more than $30.38 billion issued in July. Ginnie Mae IÂ pools totaled $4.015 billion, while Ginnie Mae IIÂ pools had $33.629 billion in issuance.
Included in the residential numbers were $0.792 billion in securitized home-equity conversion mortgages, growing from $0.703 billion in HMBS issued a month earlier.
Ginnie likely saw another increase in HMBS volume in September based on Federal Housing Administration endorsements, which rose to 4,122 HECMs for $1.0 billion in August from 3,868 units endorsed for $0.9 billion in July. But Ginnie’s HMBS activity is likely to turn lower in October, with FHAÂ HECM endorsements falling to 3,706 HECMs last month according to Reverse Market Insight.
Multifamily issuance was $1.926 billion, improving from July’s $1.65 billion. During the first eight months of 2012, multifamily issuance totaled $12.326 billion.
