Multifamily Lending Increases 33% in 2012

In 2012, 2,803 different multifamily lenders provided a total of $146.1 billion in new mortgages for apartment buildings with five or more units--a 33 percent increase from 2011 levels, according to data from the ""Mortgage Bankers Association"":http://mbaa.org/default.htm (MBA).

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""In many ways we were in a golden age of multifamily finance in 2012, that to a large extent continues today,"" said Jamie Woodwell, MBA's VP of commercial real estate finance. ""Low interest rates, strong property fundamentals and increasing multifamily property [COLUMN_BREAK]

prices are all supporting a very favorable lending environment. The 33 percent increase in lending volume in 2012 brought levels nearly back to where they had been in 2007.""

By dollar volume, the greatest share of multifamily mortgages originated last year went to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, who made up 40 percent of the secondary market. In terms of loan counts, the largest share (80 percent) went into portfolios at commercial banks, thrifts, and credit unions.

JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, CBRE Capital Markets, Walker & Dunlop, and Berkadia were the biggest players in the multifamily sector last year by dollar volume.

Sixty-seven percent of active lenders made five or fewer multifamily loans over the course of the year, MBA reported.

The MBA report is based on its surveys of originators covering $244 billion in commercial/multifamily loans in 2012 and recently released Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data, which covers multifamily loans made by smaller lenders, particularly commercial banks, thrifts, and other institutions that meet certain single-family origination thresholds.