Freddie Mac executives feel more optimistic about the housing market with Freddie's REO inventory down 30% from peak levels, home prices on the rise and unemployment edging lower.

"As of our last quarter, we were at about 53,000 units," said Chris Bowden, vice president of Freddie Mac's HomeSteps unit, while speaking at HousingWire's REperform Summit, a mortgage servicing conference that concluded Friday in Dallas.