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MortgagePoint » Your Trusted Source for Mortgage Banking and Servicing News 64 September 2024 J O U R N A L "Freddie Mac continued to deliver steady results in a housing market character- ized by relatively high mortgage rates and muted home sales. The company remains focused on helping families purchase or rent a place to call 'home.'" Fannie Mae Q2 Highlights In Q2 2024, Fannie Mae reported: » Net income increased $164 million in Q2 2024, compared to Q1 2024, primarily driven by increases in net interest income and benefits for credit losses. » The GSE provided $95 billion in liquidity in the second quarter of 2024, which enabled the financing of approximately 330,000 home pur- chases, refinancings, and rental units. » Acquired approximately 213,000 sin- gle-family purchase loans, of which approximately half were for first-time homebuyers, and approximately 45,000 single-family refinance loans during the second quarter of 2024. » Financed approximately 72,000 units of multifamily rental housing in the second quarter of 2024; a significant majority were affordable to house- holds earning at or below 120% of area median income (AMI), provid- ing support for both workforce and affordable housing. » Home prices grew 3% on a national basis in Q2 2024, according to the Fannie Mae Home Price Index. » The U.S. weekly average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) increased from 6.79% as of the end of Q1 2024, to 6.86% as of the end of Q2 2024. Freddie Mac Q2 Highlights In Q2 2024, Freddie Mac reported: » Net revenues of $6 billion, an in- crease of 12% year over year, driven by higher net interest income and higher non-interest income. » Provision for credit losses of $0.4 billion, primarily driven by a credit reserve build in single-family attrib- utable to new acquisitions. » New business activity of $85 billion, up from $83 billion in the second quarter of 2023. » Mortgage portfolio of $3.1 trillion, up 2% year over year. » Serious delinquency rate of 0.50%, down from 0.56% on June 30, 2023. » Completed approximately 18,000 loan workouts. » 62% of mortgage portfolio covered by credit enhancements. » New business activity of $11 billion, down from $13 billion in the second quarter of 2023. » Mortgage portfolio of $447 billion, up 5% year over year. » Delinquency rate of 0.38%, up from 0.21% on June 30, 2023. » 95% of mortgage portfolio covered by credit enhancements. HUD DEDICATES $3.5B+ TO HOMELESS ASSISTANCE T he U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has announced that it will pro- vide more than $3.5 billion in competitive funding to homeless services organiza- tions across the country for supportive services and housing programs for people experiencing homelessness. "This year's funding opportunity makes available the largest amount of funding in history under the Contin- uum of Care program and reflects the Biden-Harris administration's contin- ued commitment to tackle the nation's homelessness crisis with the urgency it requires," HUD Acting Secretary Adri- anne Todman said. "Nobody should have to live in their car or on the streets. These funds will provide shelter to Americans when they need our help the most." The competitive funding will be awarded through HUD's Continuum of Care Program, one of the largest sources of federal grant funding for homeless services and housing programs, serving those experiencing homelessness. Nearly 400 Continuum of Care communities apply, and HUD funds approximately 7,000 homeless services projects annu- ally through the Continuum of Care Program. Projects are operated by non- profit providers, States, Indian Tribes, or Tribally Designated Housing Entities, and local governments. HUD is issuing a two-year Con- tinuum of Care (CoC) Program Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) as authorized by the Consolidated Ap- propriations Act, 2024. Communities are only required to submit one CoC application that will be applicable for FY 2024 and FY 2025 funds. This change will streamline the application process and significantly reduce the administrative burden on applicants. Keeping Ahead of Inflation HUD is also applying a first-of-its- kind cost of living adjustment to allow CoC budgets to better keep up with rising costs. This will provide additional pay and support for homeless assistance providers and improve overall service delivery for people experiencing home- lessness. "We don't talk enough about the thousands of providers who work every day to end homelessness," said Princi- pal Deputy Assistant Secretary Marion McFadden for Community Planning and Development. "Our approach this year incorporates the feedback we received from providers to increase support for staff and reduce administrative burden by moving to a two-year application cycle so that staff can focus less time on pa- perwork needed to submit federal grant applications and more time on their core duties helping people experiencing homelessness." Improving Upon Past Projects As with prior NOFOs, Continuums of Care will have the opportunity to renew existing projects, apply for new projects, and reallocate resources from lower-per- forming projects to better serve people experiencing homelessness.