Commercial, multifamily lending hits near-record level

Commercial and multifamily mortgage bankers saw 2015 business ‘within a whisker’ of 2007 highs, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association

Commercial and multifamily mortgage bankers closed a near-record $508.3 billion in loans in 2015, according to new data from the Mortgage Bankers Association.

“Commercial real estate borrowing and lending in 2015 came within a whisker of the record high level of 2007,” said Jamie Woodwell, MBA's vice president of commercial real estate research. “The volume was driven by improving property fundamentals, strong property values and very low interest rates. Despite some credit market disruptions to start off this year and regulatory and other hurdles still ahead, many of those positive factors remain in place.”

Commercial bank portfolios were the leading capital source last year, accounting for $138.6 billion of the total, according to the MBA. Commercial mortgage-backed securities accounted for the second-highest volume at $99.4 billion, followed by life insurance companies and pension funds.

Multifamily properties had the highest origination volume at $201.7 billion, followed by office buildings, retail properties, hotel/motel, industrial properties and health care.

The total reported dollar volume of commercial and multifamily mortgages in 2015 was 26% higher than in 2014, according to the MBA. Among survey respondents who’d participated in the survey before, the dollar volume of closed loans spiked by 17%.