MBA: Commercial/Multifamily Borrowing Unchanged in First Quarter
(View of Los Angeles, via Mikhail Nilov/pexels.com)
Commercial and multifamily mortgage loan originations were essentially unchanged in the first quarter of 2024 compared to a year ago, and decreased 23% from the fourth quarter of 2023, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Quarterly Survey of Commercial/Multifamily Mortgage Bankers Originations.
“Borrowing and lending backed by commercial real estate properties remained muted in the first quarter of 2024,” said Jamie Woodwell, MBA’s Head of Commercial Real Estate Research. “Elevated interest rates and uncertainty about their direction have kept many current owners on the fence, with little commending a sale or refinance unless something forces the issue.”
Woodwell continued, “With loan maturities and other triggers increasingly likely to prompt action, property owners, potential owners, lenders, and others are all working through the specifics of each individual property to identify the level of mortgage debt that property can support. New loan originations should follow as this continues.”
ORIGINATIONS UNCHANGED IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF 2024
Originations in the first quarter of 2024 varied across the different property types. There was a 31% year-over-year decrease in the dollar volume of loans for retail properties, a 22% decrease for health care properties, a 21% decrease for office properties, and a 7% decrease for multifamily properties. Hotel property originations increased 8% and there was a 63% increase for industrial properties.
Among investor types, the dollar volume of loans originated for depositories decreased by 41% year-over-year. There was a 17% decrease for government sponsored enterprises (GSEs – Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac) loans, but a 35% increase in life insurance company loans, a 41% increase for investor-driven lender loans, and a 93% increase in the dollar volume of commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) loans.
FIRST-QUARTER 2024 ORIGINATIONS DOWN 23% FROM THE FOURTH QUARTER 2023
On a quarterly basis, in the first quarter of 2024 originations for health care properties decreased 56% compared to the fourth quarter of 2023. There was a 49% decrease in originations for retail properties, a 37% decrease for hotel properties, a 29% decrease for multifamily properties, and originations for office properties decreased 3%. The dollar volume of loans for industrial properties increased 12%.
Among investor types, between the fourth quarter of 2023 and first quarter of 2024, the dollar volume of loans for life insurance companies decreased 37%, loans for depositories decreased 36%, originations for GSEs decreased 30%, and loans for investor-driven lenders decreased 18%. The dollar volume of loans for CMBS increased by 57%.
To view the report, please visit: https://www.mba.org/news-and-research/research-and-economics/commercial-multifamily-research/quarterly-commercial-multifamily-mortgage-bankers-originations-index.
