Commercial and multifamily unpaid mortgage debt slipped 0.2% to $2.41 trillion in the first quarter of 2013, a trade association said Tuesday.

The slight drop is the first quarterly decrease since the third quarter of 2011, the Mortgage Bankers Association said. 

Meanwhile, multifamily mortgage debt outstanding escalated to $842 billion, rising $4.1 billion from the fourth quarter of 2012.

“After five quarterly increases, the amount of commercial and multifamily mortgage debt outstanding fell slightly in the first quarter,” said Jamie Woodwell, MBA’s vice president of commercial real estate research.  

He added, “Banks and thrifts, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and FHA increased their commercial and multifamily holdings, but the balance of loans in commercial mortgage-backed securities resumed its decline.”