National + Finance | June 18, 2021

The pandemic-fueled boom for multifamily owners is giving way to a slowdown in demand and rent growth in 2023, according to forecasts

Multifamily Dominates Q1 Growth in Outstanding CRE Debt

Commercial/multifamily mortgage debt outstanding rose by $44.6 billion (1.1%) in the first quarter, with multifamily accounting for the lion’s share of the increase, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). The total stood at $3.93 trillion at the end of Q1.

“The pandemic-era growth in the amount of commercial and multifamily mortgage debt outstanding continued during the first quarter, but the growth was not evenly distributed,” said Jamie Woodwell, MBA’s VP of commercial real estate research.

While all of the major capital sources increased their total during Q1, “almost two-thirds of the overall growth came from multifamily properties, with 80% of that multifamily growth coming from federally-backed agency and GSE mortgage-backed securities and portfolios,” he added.

Woodwell continued, “As the uncertainty from the COVID-19 pandemic wanes, lenders will have greater clarity into the different properties and property types and be in stronger positions to make new loans.”

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Inside The Story

MBA’s Woodwell

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).

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