LONG-TERM MORTGAGE RATES RISE THIS WEEK, REVERSING 11-WEEK TREND

McLean, VA – Freddie Mac (NYSE:FRE) today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®) in which the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 5.12 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week ending January 22, 2009, up from last week when it averaged 4.96 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 5.48 percent.

The 15-year FRM this week averaged 4.80 percent with an average 0.7 point, up from last week when it averaged 4.65 percent. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 4.95 percent.

Five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) averaged 5.24 percent this week, with an average 0.6 point, down from last week when it averaged 5.25 percent. A year ago, the 5-year ARM averaged 5.13 percent. The 5-year ARM has not been this low since the week ending September 8, 2005, when it also averaged 5.24 percent.

One-year Treasury-indexed ARMs averaged 4.92 percent this week with an average 0.7 point, up from last week when it averaged 4.89 percent. At this time last year, the 1-year ARM averaged 4.99 percent.

(Average commitment rates should be reported along with average fees and points to reflect the total cost of obtaining the mortgage.)

"Fixed-rate mortgages followed bond yields and edged up this holiday week," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist. "However, over the first three weeks of 2009, 30-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 0.25 percentage points below its monthly average for December 2008. As a result, the number of mortgage applications for refinancing was roughly about 86 percent of all conventional loans over the same time period.

"New housing construction continues to thin due to foreclosures and an abundance of unsold homes. Housing starts for 1-family homes fell 13.5 percent in December 2008 to an annualized pace just under 400,000 houses, the slowest pace since the data were collected in January 1959. In addition, homebuilder confidence fell to a record low in January since history began in January 1985."

Freddie Mac is a stockholder-owned corporation established by Congress in 1970 to support homeownership and rental housing. Freddie Mac purchases single-family and multifamily residential mortgages and mortgage-related securities, which it finances primarily by issuing mortgage-related securities and debt instruments in the capital markets. Over the years, Freddie Mac has made home possible more than 50 million times, ensuring financing for one in six homebuyers and more than four million renters.

SUMMARY OF SURVEY RESULTS

Freddie Mac defines its regions as follows:

Northeast: NY, NJ, PA, DE, MD, DC, VA, WV, ME, NH, VT, MA, RI, CT
Southeast: NC, SC, TN, KY, GA, AL, FL, PR, VI
North Central: OH, IN, IL, MI, WI, MN, IA, ND, SD
Southwest: TX, LA, NM, OK, AR, MO, KS, CO, NE, WY
West: CA, AZ, NV, OR, WA, UT, ID, MT, HI, AK, GU

Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) is for informational purposes only and Freddie Mac is not responsible for business decisions made based on the reported results of the PMMS. Freddie Mac may change the methodology used to conduct the PMMS survey at any time and without notice.

DEFINITIONS

Commitment Rate is the interest rate a lender would charge to lend mortgage money to a qualified borrower exclusive of the fees and points required by the lender. This commitment rate applies only to conventional financing on conforming mortgages with loan-to-value rates of 80 percent or less.

ARM Index - is the One-year Treasury

Loan to Value Ratio (LTV) is the ratio of the loan amount of a mortgage loan to the lower of the appraisal value or purchase price of the property securing the loan.

Origination Fees and Discount Points are the total charged by the lender at settlement. One point equals one percent of the loan amount.

Margin is a fixed amount added to the underlying index to establish the fully indexed rate for an ARM.

Weighted Averages for the Primary Mortgage Market Survey have been adjusted as of October 18, 2007. The new weights use the dollar volume of conventional mortgage originations within the 1-unit Freddie Mac loan limit as reported under Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) for 2006. The weights are listed in the table below.

PRIMARY MORTGAGE MARKET SURVEY RESULTS
January 22, 2009