The level of commercial/multifamily mortgage debt outstanding was essentially unchanged in the fourth quarter of 2011, as three of the four major investor groups increased their holdings, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). On a year-over-year basis, the amount of mortgage debt outstanding at the end of 2011 was $14 billion lower than at the end of 2010, a decline of 0.6%.
The $2.3 trillion in commercial/multifamily mortgage debt outstanding was $3 billion lower than the third-quarter 2011 figure, according to the MBA. Multifamily mortgage debt outstanding rose to $808 billion, an increase of $4 billion or 0.5% from the third quarter.
‘The amount of mortgage debt on commercial and multifamily properties remained essentially flat in the fourth quarter,’ says Jamie Woodwell, the MBA's vice president of commercial real estate research. ‘Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, the Federal Housing Administration, life insurance companies, and banks and thrifts all increased their holdings of commercial and multifamily mortgages. Continued declines in commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) balances – resulting from few new originations during the quarter and a continued runoff and rundown of outstanding CMBS loans – more than erased these other increases.’
The MBA's data can be viewed online.
