CRE Collapse Deeper

National Mortgage News (08/25/08) Vol. 32, No. 46, P. 1; Harmon, Jennifer
The Mortgage Bankers Association reports that commercial and multifamily loan originations fell in this year's April-through-June period to a level 63 percent below that of 2007's second quarter. MBA researchers cite declines in nearly every property type, including hotels, down 87 percent; healthcare facilities, 66 percent; offices, 65 percent; retail stores, 63 percent; industrial, 57 percent; and, finally, a 42-percent decline for multifamily housing. Looking at investor types, a whopping 98-percent year-over-year decline in mortgage originations was recorded for conduits for commercial mortgage-backed securities; while the second-quarter volume for government-sponsored enterprises was essentially flat compared to the first three months of this year. Looking at the various geographic regions, the Midwest underperformed all regions with an index value of 73.1; the South was listed as the most optimistic, with an index score of 84.6, and was the only region not to post a decline in rental rates; while the West recorded the biggest decline in positive attitudes with regard to the state of the office and industrial property markets.