South By North Strategies, Ltd.

In a new Economic Letter, the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco analyzes changes in the national mortgage market following the bursting of the housing bubble. Concludes the Bank:

As the U.S. housing market has moved from boom in the middle of the decade to bust over the past two years, the sources of mortgage funding have changed dramatically. The government-sponsored enterprises—Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Ginnie Mae—now own or guarantee an overwhelming share of originations. At the same time, non-agency mortgage securitization and loans retained in lender portfolios have largely dried up.