The production of loans secured by apartment buildings grew last year, though most multifamily lenders closed just a handful of loans.
Commercial real estate lenders originated $146.1 billion in multifamily loans during 2012, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported Thursday. The trade group revised the total from $103.2 billion estimated in earlier this year.
Multifamily volume reflects lending activity on residential properties with five or more units.
MBA said its findings were based on surveys of larger multifamily lenders and data on smaller originators collected through reports made as required by the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act.
Multifamily loan production increased by a third compared to 2011.
“In many ways we were in a golden age of multifamily finance in 2012, that to a large extent continues today,” MBA Vice President of Commercial Real Estate Finance Jamie Woodwell stated in the report. “Low interest rates, strong property fundamentals and increasing multifamily property prices are all supporting a very favorable lending environment.”
Woodwell noted that last year’s multifamily production was nearly as good as in 2007.
More than two thirds of active multifamily lenders during 2012 made five or fewer loans.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac acquired 40 percent of last year’s multifamily business based on dollar volume.
Based on the number of loans originated, financial institutions — including commercial banks, thrifts and credit unions — funded 80 percent of production for their own portfolios.
Last year’s five-biggest multifamily lenders were JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A.; Wells Fargo; CBRE Capital Markets Inc.; Walker & Dunlop; and Berkadia.
