Commercial and Multifamily Bankers Closed $358 Billion-Plus in 2013

Commercial and multifamily mortgage bankers closed $358.5 billion of loans in 2013 according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) 2013 Commercial Real Estate/Multifamily Finance Annual Origination Volume Summation. Commercial bank and savings institutions were the leading investor group for whom loans were originated in 2013, responsible for $100.5 billion of the total. CMBS issuers saw the second highest volume, $79.8 billion, and were followed by life insurance companies and pension funds; Fannie Mae; REITS, mortgage REITS and investment funds; and Freddie Mac. In terms of property types, multifamily properties saw the highest origination volume, $136.9 billion, followed by office buildings, retail properties, hotel/motel, industrial, and health care. First liens accounted for 97 percent of the total dollar volume closed. “Improving property markets and a strong appetite among lenders led to a very active year in commercial real estate finance,” said Jamie Woodwell, MBA’s vice president of Commercial Real Estate Research. “Multifamily rental properties drew the most financing, and banks and thrifts were the largest source of commercial real estate lending. Despite the fact there are fewer maturing loans in need of refinancing this year, originations should continue to be buoyed by higher property values, rising property incomes and still low interest rates.” Driven in part by increased coverage, the reported dollar volume of commercial and multifamily mortgages closed in 2013 was 47 percent higher than the volume reported in 2012. Among repeat participants in the survey, the dollar volume of closed loans rose by 22 percent.