CMBS Delinquency Rate Increases Moderately

(Image courtesy of Mathias Reding/pexels.com)

The delinquency rate among KBRA-rated U.S. commercial mortgage-backed securities increased moderately in April to 4.67%, according to KBRA, New York.

The 4.67% figure represents a 17 basis point increase from March.  

But KBRA noted the total delinquent and specially serviced loan rate–the distress rate–increased “markedly” by 79 basis points to 8.29%. “The jump in distress rate was largely driven by the multifamily sector, which saw two loans totaling over $1.5 billion transferring to the special servicer this reporting period, although retail (79 basis points) and mixed-use (76 basis points) also experienced some large increases,” the report said.

KBRA reported CMBS loans totaling $3.3 billion contributed to the increasing distress rate, with 35.8% of that figure stemming from imminent or actual maturity default. “As noted, the multifamily sector represented the largest portion (44.3%, $1.5 billion) of newly distressed loans,” the report said. “The office sector, which remains steady since 2023, came in second, accounting for 26.8% ($886.1 million) of newly distressed loans, followed by retail at 19.2% ($634.7 million).”

Other key observations of the March 2024 performance data include:
The delinquency rate increased 17 basis points to 4.67% ($13.9 billion), compared to 4.5% ($13.4 billion) in March.

Multifamily continued its climb in distress rate, with a sharp 429 basis point increase, KBRA found.

The retail sector saw the second-largest increase in distress rate, followed by mixed-use and office properties. KBRA examined its $315.9 billion rated universe of U.S. private label CMBS including conduits, single-asset single-borrower and large loan transactions for the report.