U.S. Commercial, Multifamily Mortgage Originations Up 25 Percent Over Last Year

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According to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Quarterly Survey of Commercial/Multifamily Mortgage Bankers Originations, mortgage origination volumes during the second quarter of 2012 were up 25 percent from second quarter 2011 levels, and up 39 percent from the first quarter of 2012.

"Commercial and multifamily mortgage lending and borrowing continued to pick up in the second quarter," said Jamie Woodwell, MBA's Vice President of Commercial Real Estate Research.  "Low interest rates and continued stabilization and growth in the commercial real estate markets are helping support new loan originations, and every major investor group increased their lending over the quarter."

SECOND QUARTER 2012 ORIGINATIONS 25 PERCENT HIGHER THAN SECOND QUARTER 2011

The 25 percent overall increase in commercial/multifamily lending volume, when compared to the second quarter of 2011, was driven by increases in originations for retail and hotel properties. The increase included a 56 percent increase in the dollar volume of loans for retail properties, a 22 percent increase for hotel properties, a 19 percent increase for multifamily properties, a 15 percent increase for office properties, an 11 percent increase in health care property loans. These gains offset a 5 percent decrease in industrial property loans.

Among investor types, the dollar volume of loans for commercial bank portfolios increased by 58 percent over last year's second quarter. There was also a 50 percent increase in loan volumes for Government Sponsored Enterprises (or GSEs - Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac), a 16 percent increase in volumes for conduits for CMBS and a 10 percent increase in volumes for life insurance companies.

SECOND QUARTER 2012 ORIGINATIONS 39 PERCENT HIGHER THAN FIRST QUARTER 2012

Second quarter 2012 commercial and multifamily mortgage originations were 39 percent higher than originations in the first quarter of 2012. Compared to the first quarter, second quarter originations for hotel properties saw a 147 percent increase. There was a 66 percent increase for office properties, a 47 percent increase for industrial properties, a 33 percent increase for health care properties, a 29 percent increase for retail properties and a 21 percent increase for multifamily properties.

Among investor types, between the first and second quarters of 2012, loans for conduits for CMBS saw an increase in loan volume of 302 percent, loans for life insurance companies saw an increase in loan volume of 37 percent, originations for GSEs increased 28 percent and loans for commercial bank portfolios increased by 9 percent.