Commercial/Multifamily Lending Continues to Drop

Commercial and multifamily mortgage loan originations continued to drop in the first quarter of 2009, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Quarterly Survey of Commercial/Multifamily Mortgage Bankers Originations. "In the first quarter of 2009 we saw the effects of the continued recession coupled with little demand from borrowers and a constrained supply from lenders as a result of the credit crunch," said MBA's vice president of commercial real estate research Jamie Woodwell. "The net result was low levels of new originations." First quarter originations were 70% lower than during the same period last year and 26% lower than during the fourth quarter of 2008. The year-over-year decrease was seen across all investor groups and most property types. Decreases in total commercial/multifamily mortgage originations continued to be led by a drop in commercial mortgage-backed security conduit loans.