CMBS and banks led the gains as office financing signals a long-awaited comeback
Commercial and multifamily mortgage originations rose 16% in the second quarter of 2026 compared with the same period a year earlier, and climbed 12% from the first quarter, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Quarterly Survey of Commercial/Multifamily Mortgage Bankers Originations.
The gains extended a lending recovery spanning multiple consecutive quarters and most major property types.
"Commercial and multifamily mortgage lending maintained its upward trajectory in the second quarter as improving capital markets and stronger transaction activity supported higher origination volumes," said Reggie Booker, MBA's associate vice president of commercial research.
"Although activity remains uneven across some capital sources and property sectors, the overall increase in lending points to continued improvement in commercial real estate finance markets."
Office sector signals a turn amid broad property gains
Year-over-year, retail led all property types with a 61% jump in dollar volume, followed by office at 47%, hotel at 19%, multifamily at 8%, and industrial at 6%. Health care was the lone category to contract, falling 19% compared with Q2 2025.
Office's 47% annual gain is among the more consequential data points in the report. The sector has faced sustained financing pressure since 2020, and its rebound — combined with a 23% quarterly increase from Q1 2026 — marks a meaningful shift in lender appetite.
Booker described the growth as signaling "renewed financing activity in a sector that has faced significant headwinds," though he did not call it a full recovery.
These figures track with MBA's February 2026 forecast projecting that commercial and multifamily lending would sustain its upward momentum through 2026, with total origination volume expected to reach $805.5 billion for the year. That's roughly 27% above 2025's estimated $633.7 billion.
CMBS and depositories lead the capital source reshuffle
Among investor categories, commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) posted the sharpest year-over-year gain at 68%, followed by depositories at 61% and investor-driven lenders at 18%.
Government-sponsored enterprises — Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — fell 17%, while life insurance companies dropped 27%.
On a quarterly basis, the CMBS recovery was even more pronounced: volumes surged 55% between Q1 and Q2 2026.
Depositories rose 22%, and life insurance companies added 15%. GSEs were the lone quarterly pullback, edging down 7%.
For commercial originators, the shift matters. Brokers who have repositioned for a new commercial real estate cycle are seeing the capital stack expand in real time.
CMBS and bank lenders are taking share from sources that traditionally dominated, creating pricing tension that benefits borrowers and opens deal flow that has been constrained since rates climbed in 2022.
Xander Snyder, senior commercial real estate economist at First American Financial Corporation, previously noted that declining loan extensions, from $384 billion in 2024 to $200 billion in 2025, are generating "more liquidity and more transactions for brokers to work on."
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