By Shaina Mishkin

Home buyers might be heartened by President Donald Trump's mortgage bond purchase directive. But Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac shareholders aren't.

Common shares of the two secondary mortgage market giants under government conservatorship logged their lowest closes since late November on Thursday, according to Dow Jones Market Data. Freddie Mac, which has fallen for six consecutive days, is down 13.4% in that time frame. Fannie Mae is down four days in a row, dropping roughly 12%.

The declines follow news last week that Trump was instructing the companies, which are under Federal Housing Finance Agency conservatorship, to buy $200 billion in mortgage bonds. That's good news for home buyers waiting for lower rates, but less welcome for investors keeping watch for signs that a public offering or exit from government conservatorship is coming.

The stocks rose over 200% last year as investors hoped that a Trump presidency would see the companies released from the government conservatorship they have been under since 2008. Investors have also been watching for signs of a public offering for the companies. Federal Housing Finance Agency director Bill Pulte said last year that the administration could sell a small slice of the companies in a public offering.

Ramping up the companies' mortgage-backed securities portfolio could be seen as a sign that the administration plans to maintain control of the two companies as a tool to lower mortgage rates instead.

Trump's directive does not necessarily mean that an offering is off the table, Wedbush analyst Henry Coffey wrote in a Jan. 9 note. "Trump's opening salvo this year on housing -- calling for [Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac] to purchase $200 billion in MBS -- points to his focus on making housing more affordable," he wrote. "We do not think he has given up on the FNMA/FMCC IPO; he wants both affordability and a monetization of the Treasury's warrants in these two entities."

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have already been increasing their mortgage-backed securities holdings, according to their monthly summaries. As of November, the most recent month for which data is available, Fannie Mae's agency MBS holdings in the company's portfolio increased to roughly $65.19 billion from $54.5 billion one month prior, while Freddie Mac's agency securities increased to $39.4 billion from $34.4 billion one month prior.

Write to Shaina Mishkin at shaina.mishkin@dowjones.com

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January 15, 2026 17:05 ET (22:05 GMT)

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