CRE/MF Loans Seen Up 56%

Commercial and multifamily lending volume for the second quarter ($29.5 billion) was up 56% from the first quarter ($18.9 billion), and 29% from the second quarter of 2002 ($22.9 billion), according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's second quarter survey of commercial and multifamily mortgage originations.The increase was seen in lending on all property types, with the largest dollar increases seen in the multifamily sector, the mortgage bankers' trade association reports. Jeff Weidell, senior vice president of Northmarq Capital and vice chair of the MBA's commercial/multifamily research committee, said, "With interest rates at or near their lowest point in more than 40 years, the cost of financing new transactions and refinancing existing commercial debt presented an unprecedented opportunity for most market participants, and has been the major factor in driving up loan demand." Loans on retail properties were up 44% from a year ago, lending on office properties rose 39% and multifamily lending was up 21%. Loans backed by healthcare properties registered a sharp 200% rise (one lender accounted for a major portion of the increase) and lending on hotel properties rose 35%. Conduit lenders funded 37.4% of the total loan volume for the second quarter, life insurance companies 19.5% and commercial banks 13.3%, the MBA reports.