Commercial and Multifamily Originations Post Increases in Q2

Commercial and multifamily loan originations are up both quarterly and over the year, according to the Quarterly Survey of Commercial/Multifamily Mortgage Bankers Originations released Tuesday by the ""Mortgage Bankers Association"":http://mbaa.org/default.htm (MBA).

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Originations increased by 36 percent from the first quarter to the second quarter, with the greatest increase in activity occurring among hotel properties, which experienced an 89 percent increase over the quarter.

A significant increase in originations also took place among office properties in the second quarter, when originations spiked 75 percent from the previous quarter.

Retail property originations were up 48 percent; industrial property originations were up 44 percent; and multifamily properties were up 22 percent over the quarter.

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Despite a ""slower start to the year, lending by life insurance companies surged in the second quarter to the highest quarterly volume on record for that sector,"" said Jamie Woodwell, MBA's VP of commercial real estate research. Life insurance companies upped their commercial/multifamily investment by 100 percent in dollar volume over the quarter.

When comparing the first half of the year to the first half of last year, MBA calculated an 8 percent increase in commercial/multifamily originations this year.

""The apartment market continues to be the belle of the ball, with multifamily mortgage originations running 31 percent ahead of last year's first half total,"" Woodwell said.

Hotel property originations are up 13 percent when comparing the first six months of this year with the first six months of last year, and industrial property originations are up 1 percent.

On the other hand, office, retail, and health care property originations are all down, by 2 percent, 19 percent, and 27 percent, respectively, according to MBA.

Conduits for commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS), GSEs, and commercial bank portfolios all increased their activity in the commercial/multifamily sector over the first half of the year compared to the first half of last year.

By loan volume, CMBS increased activity 22 percent; GSEs increased their activity by 20 percent, and commercial banks increased activity by 11 percent.

Life insurance companies kept their activity relatively even with last year.