The level of commercial/multifamily mortgage debt outstanding at the end of 2019 was $248 billion (7.3 percent) higher than at the end of 2018, according to the
Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) latest Commercial/Multifamily Mortgage Debt Outstanding quarterly report.
MBA’s report found that total mortgage debt outstanding in the final three months of 2019 rose by 2.1 percent ($75.0 billion) compared to last year’s third quarter, with all four major investor groups increasing their holdings. Multifamily mortgage debt grew by $30.4 billion (2.0 percent) to $1.53 trillion during the fourth quarter, and by $116.7 billion (8.2 percent) for the entire year.
“In 2019, the amount of mortgage debt backed by commercial and multifamily properties grew by the largest annual amount since before the Global Financial Crisis,” said Jamie Woodwell, MBA’s vice president of commercial real estate research. “Every major capital source increased their holdings, and some by double digits. Continuing the recent trend, the growth in multifamily mortgage debt outpaced that of other property types. Looking ahead, a key question will be how the coronavirus and related economic shocks will affect the market’s momentum in 2020. At this point it is still too early to tell.”
The four major investor groups are: Bank and thrift; commercial mortgage backed securities (CMBS); collateralized debt obligation (CDO) and other asset backed securities (ABS) issues; federal agency and government sponsored enterprise (GSE) portfolios and mortgage backed securities (MBS); and life insurance companies.
Commercial banks continue to hold the largest share (39 percent) of commercial/multifamily mortgages at $1.4 trillion. Agency and GSE portfolios and MBS are the second largest holders of commercial/multifamily mortgages, at $744 billion (20 percent of the total). Life insurance companies hold $561 billion (15 percent), and CMBS, CDO and other ABS issues hold $504 billion (14 percent).
