Fannie Serious Delinquencies Fall For 1st Time In 3 Years

DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

Fannie Mae (FNM) said serious delinquencies on single-family mortgages in its portfolio fell in March from February, the first month-to-month decline in three years, yet more evidence that woes with home loans have, at least for now, peaked.

A litany of data have shown delinquencies easing the past several months. That is a welcome sign for lenders and investors, who have been slammed by bad loans. Fannie said the amount of loans at least 90 days behind fell to 5.47% in March from 5.59% in February. The prior-year rate was 3.15%. The last time the rate fell on month was March 2007. The report also showed that Fannie's mortgage portfolio rose 3.2% in April to $789.49 billion. Its book of business, which includes mortgage-backed securities and other guarantees, fell $5.24 billion to $3.258 trillion. Excluding loans purchased from trusts that won't be reflected as liquidated until May, the annualized rate of decline was 4.2%. In addition, Fannie's net commitments to purchase mortgages fell 4.3% from March, to $79.15 billion, though it rose 24% from last April.