MBA: 2016 Multifamily Lending Up 8%

Multifamily lending rose by 8 percent year over year in 2016, with nearly 3,000 different multifamily lenders providing a record $269.2 billion in new mortgages for apartment buildings with five or more units, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported this morning.

MBA Vice President of Commercial Real Estate Research Jamie Woodwell said the MBA Annual Report on Multifamily Lending reflected strong lending fundamentals.

“In 2016, strong property performance, rising property values and low mortgage rates all meant greater access to mortgage credit for apartment property owners,” Woodwell said. “The $269 billion in lending that took place shows the breadth of the market–with loans ranging in size from tens of thousands of dollars to hundreds of millions and the largest lender closing more than 7,500 loans while 61 percent of active lenders closed five or fewer loans. Market momentum has continued in 2017, with strong demand from borrowers and a strong appetite to lend by lenders, especially of loans going to government-related entities.”

The MBA report is based on its surveys of the larger multifamily lenders and the recently released Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data that covers multifamily loans made by many smaller lenders, particularly commercial banks. MBA reported 2,822 active lenders in 2016.

The $269.2 billion of multifamily mortgages originated in 2016 went to a variety of investors. By dollar volume, the greatest share (39 percent of the total) went to Government-Sponsored Enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The top five multifamily lenders in 2016 by dollar volume were Wells Fargo, JP Morgan Chase and Co., CBRE Capital Markets Inc., Berkadia and Walker & Dunlop.

The MBA report includes:

–A detailed summary of the $269.2 billion multifamily market,

–Profiles of distinct market segments, including the very-small loan (loans of $1 million or less) lender segment,

–A breakout of 2016 multifamily lending volume by investor group,

–A listing of 2,822 lenders who made multifamily loans in 2016, including their lending volume, number of loans made and average loan size, and

–A listing of metropolitan areas and the volume of very-small loans made in each in 2016.

The report is based on data from the MBA 2016 Commercial/Multifamily Annual Origination Volume Summation and the HMDA. The MBA survey targets dedicated commercial/multifamily originators and covered $491 billion in commercial/multifamily loans in 2016. HMDA data adds multifamily loans from banks, thrifts and other institutions that meet certain single-family origination thresholds. When combined, the two datasets provide the most comprehensive assessment of the multifamily lending market available.

To purchase the report, visit
https://www.mba.org/news-research-and-resources/research-and-economics/commercial/multifamily-research/annual-report-on-multifamily-lending.