The delinquency rate for U.S. commercial real estate loans in commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) inched higher by eight basis points (bps) in March to 9.5% after reaching the lowest level in a year, according to new data from Trepp LLC. Overall, the rate has fallen 84 bps since hitting its all-time peak of 10.34% at the end of July 2012.
Loan resolutions continued to drop in March, falling from just under $1 billion in February to almost $850 million. There were $2.8 billion in newly delinquent loans reported in March, up slightly from the previous month.
There are currently $52.1 billion in U.S. CMBS loans 30 or more days delinquent, excluding loans that are past their balloon date but current on interest payments. There are about 3,300 loans totaling $64.8 billion currently in special servicing.
‘A close examination of the data reveals that the weakening experienced in March is not nearly as worrisome as it seems,’ says Manus Clancy, senior managing director of Trepp. ‘The jump in the rate was caused primarily by a reversal of status of a number of floating rate hotel loans’
