For the fourth consecutive month HECM mortgage-backed securities (HMBS) issued by Ginnie Mae have increased, topping $1 billion for only the third time in the last 16 months.

HMBS issues totaled $1.029 billion in April a 9.5% increase over the $940 issued in March.  In all, Ginnie Mae issued $26.408 billion in mortgage-backed securities.  HMBS accounted for 3.9% of the total issues.

In the first four months of 2011 HMBS issues by Ginnie Mae have reached $3.745 billion.  This is a 3.5% decrease over the first four months of 2010.  However, 2011 has seen a more consistent forward momentum than the previous year.  In 2010, three of the four months were below $900 million in HMBS issues, but February 2010 saw a huge spike to $1.447 billion, the highest total of the past 16 months.

“The continuing demand for our MBS is proof that Ginnie Mae has served taxpayers well by supporting the economy in extraordinary ways,” said Ginnie Mae President Ted Tozer. “Issuance activity during the housing crisis has helped the Administration’s housing stability efforts by pumping about $1.1 trillion in liquidity into the U.S. housing mortgage finance market.”