Commercial, multifamily originations spike 44% in 2010: MBA

By Christine Ricciardi

• April 25, 2011 • 5:06pm

Commercial and multifamily originations for 2010 spiked 44% from the year before, the Mortgage Bankers Association said Monday.

Mortgage bankers lent a reported $118.8 billion in closed commercial and multifamily loans, according the trade group. More than $6 billion of that total is attributable to the fourth quarter alone.

Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Housing Administration invested $42.8 billion collectively, making them the largest investor group. Life insurance companies and pension funds contributed a total $30.6 billion during the year.

Multifamily properties received the largest amount of funding at $48.9 billion, followed by office properties at $22.6 billion. The MBA estimated this figure is up 170% over 2009.

First liens accounted for 92% of all originations in 2010, the MBA said.

The MBA released the official numbers today, which beat the trade group's forecast of an annual origination gain of 36% over 2009. That forecast was estimated based on quarterly data.

Earlier this month, the MBA named Wells Fargo ($31.74 0%) the top commercial/multifamily originator of 2010. The San Francisco-based bank was followed by Holiday Fenoglio Fowler ($13.61 0%), Meridian Capital Group, CBRE Capital Markets, Prudential Mortgage Capital Co., MetLife Real Estate Investments ($30.96 0%), Deutsche Bank Commercial Real Estate ($37.08 0%), Northmarq Capital and Berkadia Commerical Mortgage.