Multifamily lending for mortgages in US declined 49% last year: Report

By Ovunc Kutlu

ISTANBUL (AA) - Multifamily lending for new mortgages in the US decreased 49% last year, compared to the year before, according to a report Thursday by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).

Multifamily lenders provided a total of $246.2 billion in new mortgages for apartment buildings with five or more units, it said.

The report, in addition, showed that 51% of the active lenders made five or fewer multifamily loans over the course of last year.

MBA Head of Commercial Real Estate Research Jamie Woodwell said the decline in multifamily lending comes as sales transactions declined and fewer property owners sought to refinance their loans.

"The analysis shows that even with the drop in activity, the multifamily lending market remains broad and deep, with more than 2,500 different lenders making more than 36,000 mortgage loans backed by multifamily properties in amounts ranging from tens of thousands of dollars to hundreds of millions," he added.

The majority of the $246.2 billion of multifamily mortgages originated last year, or 42%, went to government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.