Commercial Mortgage Debt Rises in First Quarter

Washington, DC, June 19, 2015 -- The level of commercial/multifamily mortgage debt outstanding increased by $40.4 billion in the first quarter of 2015, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

MBA said that all four major investor groups increased their holdings. That is a 1.5 percent increase over the fourth quarter of 2014.

Total commercial/multifamily debt outstanding stood at $2.68 trillion at the end of the first quarter. Multifamily mortgage debt outstanding rose to $989 billion, an increase of $20.6 billion, or 2.1 percent, from the fourth quarter of 2014.

"Strong first quarter mortgage originations boosted the level of commercial and multifamily mortgage debt outstanding," said Jamie Woodwell, MBA's vice president of Commercial Real Estate Research.

"Multifamily mortgages continued to grow even more quickly than the market as a whole, with banks increasing their portfolios by $8 billion and agency and GSE portfolios and MBS increasing their holdings by $10 billion."

Commercial banks continue to hold the largest share of commercial/multifamily mortgages, $985 billion, or 37 percent of the total.