In 1994 Fannie Mae's performance jumped by 6.1 percentage points in that year alone and has since remained at the 1994 level. Freddie Mac has shown more gradual, but relatively steady, gains in this area, though its performance relative to Fannie Mae's was lower in 1997 than in 1993. Characteristics of GSE Mortgage Purchases Table 2 lists some characteristics of borrowers and of mortgages purchased by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in 1996 and 1997. This pattern was essentially unchanged from 1993 to 1995. Similar gains were also made for Hispanics, from 3 to 4 percent in 1993 to 4 to 6 percent in 1995, with some decline in 1996-97.
Percentages refer to home purchase mortgages only.
As housing has become more affordable, first-time homebuyers have played a more significant part in the market. Although the proportion of the population in this age group decreased from 18 percent in 1985 to 15 percent in 1996, first-time homebuyers increased from about 40 percent of all buyers in the 1980s to 45 percent or more in recent years. Compared to FHA, the GSEs lag in support for first-time homebuyers. Most of the mortgages that the GSEs purchase are originated with high downpayments. A noticeable pattern among lower income loans purchased by the GSEs is the predominance of loans with high downpayments.