ORLANDO, FLA. — CBRE was Freddie Mac’s highest-producing multifamily mortgage seller in 2015, originating $6.96 billion in loans last year.
Freddie Mac made the announcement at the Mortgage Bankers Association’s commercial real estate finance and multifamily housing convention in Orlando on Feb. 2. In total, Freddie Mac bought $47.3 billion in new multifamily loans in 2015, comprising 650,000 rental units.
“CBRE had another terrific year placing loans with Freddie Mac and earning its top producer award for the seventh consecutive year,” says Mitchell Kiffe, a senior managing director of debt and structured finance at CBRE. “CBRE utilized Freddie Mac’s expanded product offerings, such as its small balance loan program, to achieve the number one ranking. We look forward to another big origination year as multifamily loan demand remains strong.”
Freddie Mac securitizes about 90 percent of the multifamily loans it purchases, thus transferring the vast majority of the expected credit risk from taxpayers to private investors.
“We have a tremendous partnership with our lender partners, who work tirelessly every day to provide apartment financing,” says John Cannon, senior vice president of Freddie Mac’s multifamily production and sales. “Support for this market is more important than ever, especially with the increased need for properties with affordable rents, which is largely what we fund.”
Following CBRE, the top mortgage sellers by volume were Berkadia Commercial Mortgage ($6.35 billion), HFF ($5.15 billion), Walker & Dunlop ($5.11 billion) and Wells Fargo Multifamily Capital ($3.53 billion).
Separated by housing sector, Wells Fargo Multifamily Capital was the top affordable housing seller and top manufactured housing community seller; HFF was the top conventional structured transactions seller; Walker & Dunlop was the top seniors housing seller; and Arbor Commercial Mortgage was the top small balance loans seller.
Since the launch of Freddie Mac’s multifamily business in 1993, it has provided more than $393 billion in financing for more than 66,000 multifamily properties.
Freddie Mac Multifamily helps ensure a steady supply of affordable rental housing by purchasing and securitizing mortgages on apartment buildings nationally.
The loans range from $1 million to several billion dollars, and roughly 90 percent support rental units for low- and moderate-income households.
Congress established Freddie Mac in 1970 to provide liquidity, stability and affordability to the nation’s residential mortgage markets. The company is the nation’s largest source of financing for multifamily housing.
— Haisten Willis