MBA: Commercial Originations Up in 2Q

Commercial mortgage originations totaled $33.2 billion in the second quarter, up 17.4% from the level recorded a year earlier and up 54.1% from that of the first quarter, the Mortgage Bankers Association has reported.The MBA said the major quarter-to-quarter increase "reflects the traditional cycle of low levels of first-quarter originations followed by a pick-up in the second quarter." With second-quarter originations going strong, 2004 is now "on pace to exceed 2003's record origination volumes," said Doug Duncan, the MBA's chief economist and senior vice president. Multifamily property saw the most originations for the second quarter, at $13.4 billion (40.8% of the total). However, multifamily originations were down 4% compared with those of last year, the MBA said. Office and retail property originations were at $8 billion and $6 billion, respectively, for the period. Conduits purchased $9.5 billion of the second-quarter originations, followed by Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac at $6.6 billion, life insurance company volume of $5.9 billion, and commercial bank volume of $5.6 billion. The MBA can be found online at http://www.mortgagebankers.org.