Commercial banks lifted their originations of commercial real estate loans by more than half from the second quarter and led an overall improvement in commercial production. Also helping quarterly volume was retail property financing. U.S. commercial mortgage production could end the year above $200 billion.
Third-quarter commercial mortgage production by U.S. originators climbed 10 percent from the second quarter. Compared to the third-quarter 2010, CRE fundings leapt 97 percent.
The production data was outlined in the Quarterly Survey of Commercial/Multifamily Mortgage Bankers Originations released Thursday by the Mortgage Bankers Association.
Using previously reported 2010 commercial mortgage originations of $118.8 billion, third-quarter volume worked out to about $56.5 billion.
Volume amounted to around $51.6 billion three months earlier and roughly $28.7 billion a year earlier.
During the first nine months of 2011, commercial lenders closed approximately $142.2 billion. During the same period last year, the number was only $72.1 billion.
If the increasing trend continues into the fourth quarter, annual originations could exceed $200 billion.
Quarter-over-quarter strength in the sector was driven by commercial banks, which saw originations jump 55 percent from the second quarter. Compared to a year earlier, CRE originations at banks were up 428 percent.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac also turned in a strong performance, with multifamily business increasing 31 percent from prior period and climbing 47 percent from the same period in 2010.
Life insurance companies saw a 3 percent increase from the second quarter. But life insurers pushed volume up 60 percent from the third-quarter 2010.
“Mortgage originations by life company portfolios hit another new record in the third quarter,” MBA Vice President of Commercial Real Estate Research Jamie Woodwell said in the report.
The only sector to see a decline from the second quarter was conduit. The production of securitized commercial mortgages fell 48 percent. But conduit volume was 163 percent better than a year prior.
By property type, the origination of loans secured by retail properties was 37 percent higher than the second quarter — the strongest of any property type. Retail production was up 164 percent from the third quarter of last year.
Office originations were up 8 percent from the previous quarter and 102 percent better than the same quarter a year prior.
The production of loans secured by hotel properties rose 4 percent on a quarter-over-quarter basis and was 402 percent higher than the third-quarter 2010 — the biggest year-over-year increase of all commercial property types.
Multifamily production was down, however, 2 percent from the second quarter. But apartment lending rose 39 percent from the same quarter last year.
Healthcare loan originations sank 30 percent and were off 8 percent from the third-quarter 2010.
