The performance of the multifamily housing segment is a mixed bag with occupancy rates and rents going up even as delinquencies in certain Fitch-rated CMBS loans rise, the ratings giant said Friday.
Fitch assembled a report on multifamily CMBS, discovering that there is no direct corollary to show why the multifamily sector is struggling with delinquencies on CMBS in markets that are struggling single-family markets. Fitch said analysts presumed weak single-family housing markets would spur along rental activity with more families facing foreclosure searching for apartment rentals.
Instead, Fitch found no direct corollary in markets like Texas, where both the single-family and multifamily segments are doing relatively well.
However, in Las Vegas, where home prices are down 62% and single-family housing is struggling, the $1.2 billion in CMBS multifamily loans in the area have a delinquency rate of 32.6%. What's different about Las Vegas is the lack of an inverse corollary between residential home prices and improved performances in the multifamily sector.
Fitch thought a weak single-family segment would spur along multifamily CMBS loan performance in places like Vegas. But in fact, both sectors are struggling there.
At the same time, this inverse corollary exists in California where home prices are down and declining, and the state's delinquency rate for CMBS multifamily loans is just 4.4%, representing less than a third of the overall multifamily delinquency rate.
Multifamily loans currently make up $54.9 billion in fixed-rate multi-borrower CMBS-rated Fitch Ratings, representing 14% of the total rated CMBS portfolio.
The multifamily delinquency rate at the end of 2011 stood at 14.4% but dropped to 12.8% in January.
The states with the highest CMBS multifamily delinquency rates include New York with a 53.8% delinquency rate, followed by Nevada (32.6% delinquency rate) and Connecticut (22.3%).
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