National + Finance | March 17, 2021

Commercial and multifamily mortgage loan originations set a new record in 2021, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported

CRE Mortgage Debt Grew 5.8% in 2020 Despite Slowdown

Commercial/multifamily mortgage debt outstanding at the end of 2020 was $212 billion (5.8%) higher than at the end of 2019, the Mortgage Bankers Association said Tuesday. The increase occurred despite a dropoff in lending volume during 2020.

Total mortgage debt outstanding in the final three months of 2020 rose 1.5% compared to 2019’s third quarter, with all four major lender types increasing their holdings. Multifamily mortgage debt grew 2.5% during Q4 2020, and by 8.2% for the entire year.

“Continuing the trend of previous quarters, growth in multifamily mortgage debt outpaced other property types, with increases in federally-backed mortgages from Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and FHA driving that growth,” said Jamie Woodwell, MBA’s VP of commercial real estate research. “Strong appetites from all the major capital sources should keep growth going in 2021, but with key differences across property types.”

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About Paul Bubny

Paul Bubny serves as Senior Content Director for Connect Commercial Real Estate, a role to which he brings 13-plus years’ experience covering the commercial real estate industry and 30-plus years in business-to-business journalism. In this capacity, he oversees daily operations while also reporting on both local/regional markets and national trends, covering individual transactions across all property types, as well as delving into broader subject matter. He produces 15-20 daily news stories per day and works with the Connect team and clients to develop longer-form content, ranging from Q&As to thought-leadership pieces. Prior to joining Connect, Paul was Managing Editor for both Real Estate Forum and GlobeSt.com at American Lawyer Media, where he oversaw operations at both publications while also producing daily news and feature-length articles. His tenure in B2B publishing stretches back into the print era, and he has served as Editor in Chief on four national trade publications. Since 1999, Paul has volunteered as the newsletter editor of passenger rail advocacy groups (one national, one local).