Commercial, Multifamily Loan Originations Fall

Washington, DC, May 7, 2014 -- First quarter commercial and multifamily mortgage loan originations were 1% lower than during the same period last year and 45% lower than the fourth quarter of 2013, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

“Commercial and multifamily borrowing typically starts the year slowly, with less than one-fifth of the annual volume usually done in the first quarter,” said Jamie Woodwell, MBA’s vice president of commercial real estate research.

"Lending by banks and life companies increased compared to last year’s first quarter, but first quarter originations for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and for inclusion in commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) were lower than during the same period last year.  Taken together, commercial and multifamily mortgage originations started 2014 at the same pace they started 2013.”

The overall decrease in commercial/multifamily lending volumes, when compared to the first quarter of 2013, was driven by the decrease in originations for retail and multifamily properties.

The fall off from the final quarter of 2013 reflected a 65% decline in originations for healthcare properties, a 53% decrease in originations for retail properties, a 51% decrease for hotel properties, a 50% decrease for office properties, a 44% decrease for multifamily properties, and a 24% decrease in industrial originations.