Commercial and multifamily mortgage loan originations were 49% higher in the first quarter (Q1) than during the same period last year, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Quarterly Survey of Commercial/Multifamily Mortgage Bankers Originations.
As is the typical seasonal pattern, originations decreased 26% in Q1 compared to the fourth quarter of 2014.
‘The year-end momentum from 2014 carried into the first quarter of 2015, with year-over-year growth in lending for every major property type,’ says Jamie Woodwell, the MBA's vice president of commercial real estate research.
‘Multifamily lending was a key driver of first quarter originations, and the GSEs drove multifamily. The GSEs' multifamily originations increased by 306 percent compared to Q1 2014, marking their second-highest quarter on record, while multifamily originations for other capital sources appear to have remained flat or declined,’ Woodwell adds.
According to the survey, originations saw a 269% increase in industrial properties, 71% increase in multifamily properties, 53% increase in office properties and 51% increase in hotel properties. Health care property loans remained unchanged year over year.
Among investor types, loans originated for government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac increased in volume by 306% from Q1 in 2014. There was a 113% increase in commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) loans and a 51% increase in life insurance company loans – but a 1% decrease in commercial bank portfolio loans.
The MBA says originations for health care properties decreased 62% compared to last year's fourth quarter. There was a 57% decrease in originations for retail properties, 33% decrease for hotel properties, 31% decrease for multifamily properties and 25% decrease for office properties – but a 127% increase for industrial properties from the fourth quarter of 2014.
Among investor types, in the period between the fourth quarter of last year and Q1 of this year, commercial bank portfolio loans decreased 23%, life insurance companies' loans decreased 18%, CMBS originations decreased 14% and GSE loans decreased 13%.
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