WASHINGTON, D.C. — The total amount of commercial and multifamily mortgages originated in the fourth quarter of 2021 were up 79 percent compared to a year prior, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) Quarterly Survey of Commercial/Multifamily Mortgage Bankers Originations.
“The fourth quarter of 2021 was a record end to a record year of borrowing and lending backed by commercial and multifamily properties,” says Jamie Woodwell, MBA’s vice president of commercial real estate research. “Part of the growth from 2020 was a bounce-back from the worst of the recession. However, rebounding property fundamentals and strong valuations, record sales transaction volumes, and low interest rates all fueled commercial and multifamily borrowing and lending activity that easily outpaced previous periods.”
The highest increases in commercial and multifamily lending volumes occurred in hotel, office, industrial and retail properties when compared to the fourth quarter of 2020. There was a 167 percent year-over-year increase in the dollar volume of loans for hotel properties, a 122 percent increase for office properties, a 113 percent increase for industrial properties, a 109 percent increase for retail properties and a 57 percent increase for multifamily properties. On the flipside, however, healthcare property loan originations decreased 17 percent compared to the fourth quarter of 2020.
Additionally, fourth-quarter originations were up 44 percent compared to the third quarter of 2021. Last year, commercial and multifamily mortgage bankers’ originations volumes were 67 percent higher than in 2020. By property type, originations for industrial properties increased the most, rising 140 percent from 2020.