Commercial/Multifamily Originations Up...And Down

Second quarter 2009 commercial and multifamily mortgage loan originations were 50% higher than during the first quarter of 2009, but remained 54% lower than during the same period last year, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Quarterly Survey of Commercial/Multifamily Mortgage Banker Originations. "Commercial and multifamily mortgage originations continue to feel the effects of the recession and the credit crunch," said MBA's vice president of commercial real estate research Jamie Woodwell, adding that the increase in volumes between the first and second quarter of this year "follows a traditional seasonal increase in the second quarter." According to the MBA, the 54% year-over-year decrease in commercial/multifamily lending activity during the second quarter was driven by decreases in originations for all property types. When compared to the second quarter 2008, the decreases included an 81% decrease in loans for office properties, a 77% decrease for hotel properties, a 70% decrease for health care properties, a 65% decrease for industrial properties, a 51% decrease in retail property and a 21% decrease in multifamily property. Compared to the first quarter of this year, second quarter originations for health care properties saw a 173% increase. There was a 129% increase for hotel properties, a 93% increase for retail properties, a 73% increase for multifamily properties, but a 28% decrease for office properties and a 46% decrease for industrial properties.