WASHINGTON (AP) - Mortgage giant Freddie Mac posted net income of $2.9 billion for the July-September quarter and requested no additional federal aid.

It was Freddie's second straight profitable quarter and compared with a loss of $6 billion for the same quarter of 2011.

The government-controlled company attributed the gain to an increase in home prices and a decline in mortgage delinquencies. Both are signs of a modest housing recovery.

The government rescued Freddie and larger sibling Fannie Mae during the 2008 financial crisis after they incurred massive losses on risky mortgages. Taxpayers have spent about $170 billion to rescue them, the costliest bailout of the 2008 financial crisis.