The first quarter of 2016 was something of a dud for commercial and multifamily originations, according to new data from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). The MBA “Quarterly Survey of Commercial/Multifamily Mortgage Bankers Originations” found originations for this sector fell 38% from the fourth quarter of 2015. Among different segments, first-quarter originations for healthcare properties plummeted 62% from the fourth-quarter level, while originations for hotel properties and industrial properties each took a 57% dive. Originations for retail properties fell 46% from the previous quarter, while multifamily properties sank 39% and office properties tumbled 23%.
However, commercial/multifamily lending volumes were mostly up on a year-over-year basis, with spikes in the retail (44%), office properties (18%), hotel (3%) and multifamily (2%) segments. Decreases were seen in lending volumes for healthcare properties (down 57%) and industrial properties (down 56%).
MBA Vice President of Commercial Real Estate Research Jamie Woodwell emphasized the stronger aspects of the new data. “In the aggregate, commercial real estate borrowing and lending started 2016 in a similarly strong fashion to 2015,” said Woodwell. “Borrowing backed by retail, office, hotel and multifamily properties picked up, as did lending by banks. Disruptions in the broader capital markets pushed originations for commercial mortgage-backed securities down.”