State of the Market 2015: Q1 Numbers Released

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) has just released its First Quarter 2015 Commercial/Multifamily DataBook. Q1 of this year has been marked by continued signs of economic strength. Commercial real estate markets saw strong property sales and mortgage originations activity as property prices continued to climb.

Highlights from the report include:

• The first quarter 2015 commercial and multifamily mortgage loan originations were 49 percent higher than during the same period last year. Following the usual seasonal pattern, first quarter 2015 originations decreased by 26 percent from the fourth quarter of 2014.
• New commercial and multifamily construction activity has picked up, but for most property types remains at relatively low levels. The value of new office construction put-in-place in April doubled from its recession-low, but remains 25 percent lower than its pre-recession levels.
• Outstanding commercial/multifamily mortgage debt increased by $40.4 billion (1.5 percent) in the first quarter of 2015, as all four major investor groups increased their holdings, bringing total debt to $2.68 trillion. Outstanding multifamily mortgage debt rose to $989 billion, an increase of $20.6 billion, or 2.1 percent, from the fourth quarter of 2014.

Source: MBA