The decrease in commercial/multifamily lending activity during the first quarter was driven by decreases in originations for all property types. When compared to the first quarter of 2007, the overall decrease included a 75 percent decrease in loans for office properties, a 60 percent decrease in loans for hotel properties, a 53 percent decrease in loans for retail properties, a 37 percent decrease in loans for industrial properties, a 27 percent decrease in multifamily property loans, and a 15 percent decrease in health care loans.
First-quarter commercial and multifamily lending activity dropped 52 percent among mortgage bankers in the first quarter compared to the same quarter last year, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported, with a 27 percent decrease in multifamily property loans, a 75 percent decrease in loans for office properties, a 60 percent decline in loans for hotel properties, a 53 percent decline in loans for retail properties, a 37 percent decrease in loans for industrial properties and a 15 percent decline in healthcare loans.
Conduits for commercial mortgage-backed securities originations dropped 96 percent year-over-year in the first quarter. The association also reported a 28 percent drop in loans for commercial bank portfolios and a 25 percent drop in loans for life insurance companies, while the dollar volume of loans for government-sponsored mortgage entities Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac roe up 62 percent. Compared to fourth-quarter 2007, loan originations in the first quarter dropped 40 percent for multifamily properties.
