Multifamily lending was up 8 percent year over year in 2016, with lenders providing $269.2 billion in new mortgages for apartment buildings with five or more units, according to a new report from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).
“Last year was another record year for multifamily mortgage lending,” Jamie Woodwell, MBA’s vice president of commercial real estate research, said. “In 2016, strong property performance, rising property values and low mortgage rates all meant greater access to mortgage credit for apartment property owners. The $269 billion in lending that took place shows the breadth of the market – with loans ranging in size from tens of thousands of dollars to hundreds of millions, and the largest lender closing more than 7,500 loans while 61 percent of active lenders closed five or fewer loans.”
Woodwell added that market momentum has continued in 2017, with strong demand from borrowers and a strong appetite to lend by lenders, especially of loans going to government-related entities. About 39 percent of the $269.2 billion of multifamily to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
The MBA report is based on its surveys of the larger multifamily lenders and the recently released Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data that covers multifamily loans made by many smaller lenders, particularly commercial banks. There was a total of 2,822 active lenders in 2016. The top five multifamily lenders in 2016 by dollar volume were Wells Fargo, JP Morgan Chase and Company, CBRE Capital Markets Inc., Berkadia, and Walker & Dunlop.