Commercial, multifamily originations spike 44% in 2010: MBA

Commercial and multifamily originations for 2010 spiked 44% from the year before, the Mortgage Bankers Association said Monday. Mortgage bankers lent a reported $118.8 billion in closed commercial and multifamily loans, according the trade group. More than $6 billion of that total is attributable to the fourth quarter alone. Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Housing Administration invested $42.8 billion collectively, making them the largest investor group. Life insurance companies and pension funds contributed a total $30.6 billion during the year. Multifamily properties received the largest amount of funding at $48.9 billion, followed by office properties at $22.6 billion. The MBA estimated this figure is up 170% over 2009. First liens accounted for 92% of all originations in 2010, the MBA said. The MBA released the official numbers today, which beat the trade group’s forecast of an annual origination gain of 36% over 2009. That forecast was estimated based on quarterly data. Earlier this month, the MBA named Wells Fargo (WFC) the top commercial/multifamily originator of 2010. The San Francisco-based bank was followed by Holiday Fenoglio Fowler (HF), Meridian Capital Group, CBRE Capital Markets, Prudential Mortgage Capital Co., MetLife Real Estate Investments (MET), Deutsche Bank Commercial Real Estate (DB), Northmarq Capital and Berkadia Commerical Mortgage. Write to Christine Ricciardi. Follow her on Twitter @HWnewbieCR. Disclosure: The author holds no relevant investments.