In August, the delinquency rate for loans held in commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) took its second sharpest monthly drop since the beginning of the credit crisis. According to Trepp LLC's August 2011 U.S. CMBS Delinquency Report, delinquencies fell 36 basis points (bps) to 9.52% last month – the third time the rate has dropped in the past four months.
The value of delinquent loans is now $59.8 billion, Trepp says.
August data shows a reversal from July, when CMBS late pays hit a new high, rising 51 bps over the previous month to a 9.88% delinquency rate. The delinquency spike was the result of how some special servicers had been reporting data, says Manus Clancy, Trepp's managing director.
In July, special servicers started to flag "dual tracked" loans, he says, referring to loans on which the servicer was concurrently pursuing a workout and a foreclosure strategy. Servicers reclassified many of these loans in August, putting downward pressure on the delinquency rate.
By property type, the industrial sector saw the biggest gain in delinquencies – a 15-bps jump to 11.24%. The rates for all of the other sectors either remained flat or improved.
