First quarter 2013 commercial and multifamily mortgage loan originations were nine percent higher than during the same period last year and 36 percent lower than the fourth quarter of 2012, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Quarterly Survey of Commercial/Multifamily Mortgage Bankers Originations. “First quarter commercial and multifamily mortgage origination volumes were nine percent higher than last year’s first quarter level,” said Jamie Woodwell, MBA’s Vice President of Commercial Real Estate Research. “The overall number masks larger increases in the dollar volume of loans originated for commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and a decline in the amount originated for life insurance company portfolios.”
The nine percent overall increase in commercial/multifamily lending volume, when compared to the first quarter of 2012, was driven by increases in originations for hotel and multifamily properties. The increase included a 35 percent increase in the dollar volume of loans for hotel properties, a 30 percent increase for multifamily properties, a two percent increase for industrial properties, a six percent decrease for office properties, a 15 percent decrease in health care loans and a 25 percent decrease in retail property loans.
Among investor types, the dollar volume of loans originated for conduits for CMBS increased by 170 percent from last year’s first quarter. There was a 36 percent increase for Government-Sponsored Enterprise (GSE) loans, an eight percent increase for commercial bank portfolio loans, and a 21 percent decrease in dollar volume of loans originated for life insurance companies.
Following the traditional seasonal pattern, first quarter 2013 commercial and multifamily mortgage originations were 36 percent lower than originations in the fourth quarter of 2012. Compared to fourth quarter 2012, first quarter 2013 originations for hotel properties saw a 69 percent decrease. There was a 65 percent decrease for industrial properties, a 45 percent decrease for office properties, a 45 percent decrease for health care properties, a 32 percent decrease for multifamily properties and a 17 percent decrease for retail properties.
Among investor types, between the fourth quarter of 2012 and first quarter of 2013, loans for GSEs saw a decrease in dollar volume of 40 percent, loans for conduits for CMBS saw a decrease in loan volume of 38 percent, originations for life insurance companies decreased 31 percent and loans for commercial bank portfolios decreased by 29 percent.
