CRE Ends Year on Positive Note

Commercial real estate lending in the final quarter of 2002 jumped 18% above that of the same period a year ago, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association of America.The 44 lenders participating in the quarterly MBA survey said they originated $29.4 billion in mortgages in the period, as opposed to $24.8 billion in the fourth quarter of 2001. But MBA chief economist Doug Duncan warned that commercial lenders would find it difficult to sustain their relatively high volume levels until the economy picks up steam and starts generating the jobs necessary to cause employers to think about expanding. Anthony Pierson of CIGNA's flagship real estate account, TimesSquare, also said 2003 is likely be an off year. "The economy has to stabilize before it can recover, and right now it has not yet stabilized," the economist said. On an annual basis, according to the MBA, CRE lending was up 5.2%, rising from $82.2 billion in 2001 to $86.5 billion in 2002. Led by the multifamily market -- which was responsible for $41 billion, or 47.5% of the total -- every property type was up except the office sector, which was off by 6.5%. The MBA can be found online at http://www.mbaa.org.