The decade of Freddie Mac's public ownership has been an extraordinary period for the housing finance system and for Freddie Mac. Freddie Mac has been at the forefront of the most significant advances in the mortgage market. As a result, America's families are the beneficiaries of the world's best housing finance system. The homeownership rate is at an all-time high. Getting a mortgage is much easier, faster and fairer.
Consumers have greater choice of lenders and loan products at lower cost than ever before.
And they can count on the availability of mortgage credit, as was demonstrated in the financial market turmoil last fall. It can get even better, but the mortgage system works much better today than ten years ago. Freddie Mac has been at the core of these advances. As a result, our total mortgage portfolio has grown faster than the mortgage market over the past ten years, reflecting the benefits we bring. In all, Freddie Mac has now financed 25 million homes.