High-rise commercial buildings

Sub Markets

Property Sectors

Topics

National CRE News In Your Inbox.

Sign up for Connect emails to stay informed with CRE stories that are 150 words or less.

National  + Distressed Assets  | 

Large Office Loans Drive CMBS Delinquencies Higher in December

Fitch Ratings’ overall U.S. CMBS delinquency rate climbed 22 basis points to close 2024 at 2.98%, up from 2.76% in November and 2.31% a year ago. The increase was fueled by a surge in office delinquencies and reduced resolution volume.

Five large office loans with a balance greater than $60 million became newly delinquent in December, totaling $1.03 billion and accounting for 50% of overall new delinquencies and 81% of new office delinquencies. These were largely responsible for a 92-bp increase in office CMBS delinquencies, which ended 2024 at 7.18%.

New 60+ day delinquency volume increased to $2.08 billion in December 2024 from $1.76 billion in November, driven mainly by several larger balance office loans. Office loans accounted for the largest share of new delinquencies (61%, $1.27 billion) followed by retail (15%, $309 million), mixed use (12%, $258 million) and multifamily (5%, $92 million). Term defaults accounted for 51% ($1.06 billion) of new delinquencies, while maturity defaults represented 49% ($1.02 billion).

Resolution volume decreased to $586 million in December from $1.48 billion in November, below the year’s monthly average of $1.05 billion.

Pictured: Worldwide Plaza in New York City, which backs one of five newly delinquent large office loans.

Connect

Inside The Story

Fitch Ratings

About Paul Bubny

Paul Bubny serves as Senior Content Director for Connect Commercial Real Estate, a role to which he brings 16-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 7-10 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).

  • ◦Financing