Freddie Mac today reported what it called a “solid performance” for the first quarter of 2025, with $2.8 billion of net income, which was up by $28 million from the same quarter last year. The increase in net income helped drive the GSE’s net worth to $62.4 billion.
The company's net worth has climbed from $59.6 billion at the end of the fourth quarter of 2024 and $50.5 billion at the end of Q1 2024. That means Freddie Mac has grown its net worth by a sizable nearly 24% in one year's time.
Its net income increase for Q1 2025, according to the company, was primarily due to higher net interest income from continued mortgage portfolio growth and lower funding costs, though partially offset by lower yields on short-term investments. Net interest income was $5.1 billion for the first quarter of 2025, up $343 million, or 7%, year over year.
That increase “was primarily driven by continued mortgage portfolio growth in single family and an increase in the volume of fully guaranteed securitizations,” said Freddie Mac’s EVP and Chief Financial Officer, Jim Whitlinger, speaking on an earnings call this morning.
For Q1 2025, Freddie Mac had net revenue of $5.9 billion — a 2% YoY increase — with the lion's share of that revenue coming from its single-family business segment.
“We helped 313,000 families across the nation buy, rent, or refinance a home in the [first] quarter, with 52% of our single-family loan purchases supporting first-time home buyers,” Whitlinger noted.
Freddie Mac’s single-family business segment reported net income of $2.3 billion for the first quarter, up $316 million, or 16%, from the first quarter of 2024. Single-family net revenues of $4.9 billion represented a 10% increase from the same quarter a year ago.
Freddie’s single-family mortgage portfolio at the end of the first quarter was $3.1 trillion, up 2% year over year.
“New business activity totaled $78 billion this quarter,” Whitlinger explained, “up from $62 billion in the first quarter of 2024. Both home purchase and refinance activity increased due to higher market coverage and conforming loan limits, as well as house price appreciation."
Refinance activity accounted for 21% of Freddie Mac’s total new business activity for Q1 2025, up from 15% in the same quarter last year, “as we saw mortgage rates come down throughout the quarter,” Whitlinger noted.
Cutting Bureaucracy, Boosting Efficiency
“Our commitment to our mission is unwavering and will only improve as we work with [Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte] to streamline our operations by stripping away unnecessary bureaucracy and eliminating non-essential activities,” Whitlinger said on the call.
On that note, Whitlinger said that savings gained through improved efficiencies will help reduce Freddie Mac’s general and administrative expenses this year and going forward.
“We believe that regulatory changes making it easier for us to responsibly acquire loans will increase our revenue and enable us to provide even greater liquidity to the single-family and multifamily market, [which] should enable Freddie Mac to invest more in critical technology, increase our net worth, and lower the cost of originating a mortgage.
“Taking a step back, [Director Pulte] has challenged us to create a more affordable U.S. housing system; we are committed to rising to that challenge,” said Whitlinger.
