WASHINGTON, D.C. — Commercial and multifamily mortgage bankers have closed 106 percent more loans in the second quarter of 2021 compared to a year ago, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Quarterly Survey of Commercial/Multifamily Mortgage Bankers Originations released on Thursday. Compared to first-quarter 2021, loan originations grew by 66 percent. During the second quarter of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic really took a toll on the economy, which is a major factor as to why loans doubled in the second quarter of 2021 comparatively.
“Mortgage originations doubled compared to the second quarter of 2020, when loan demand cratered, and pandemic-related uncertainty made extending credit difficult,” says Jamie Woodwell, MBA’s vice president of commercial real estate research. “Even more notable is that compared to levels seen in 2019, a record year for originations, this year’s second quarter showed a modest 1 percent increase.”
In the second quarter of 2021, all property types saw an increase in commercial/multifamily lending volumes year-over-year. For industrial properties, the second quarter saw a 327 percent increase in the dollar volume of loans. As far as the other property sectors, healthcare saw a 302 percent increase, hotels had a 234 percent hike, office had a 149 percent gain, retail was up 88 percent and multifamily was up 63 percent.
For investor types, the dollar volume of loans originated for commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) increased by 1,913 percent year-over-year. There was also a 144 percent increase for life insurance companies, a 72 percent increase for commercial bank portfolio loans and a 33 percent decrease in the dollar volume of government-sponsored enterprises loans including Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.