Q1 Commercial/Multifamily Borrowing Up 52% Year-Over-Year

by | May 7, 2026 | 0 comments

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Commercial and multifamily mortgage loan originations experienced a 52% year-over-year surge in the first quarter of this year, although they were also down by 30% from the fourth quarter of 2025.

According to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), increase origination activity for healthcare, retail, hotel, and industrial properties fueled the rise in lending volumes. There was a 209% year-over-year increase in the dollar volume of loans for health care properties, a 148% upswing for retail properties, an 85% spike for hotel properties, a 56% jump for industrial properties, and a 49% ascent for multifamily properties. The only downward motion involved office property loan originations, with a 2% dip compared to the fourth quarter of 2025.

Among investor types, the dollar volume of loans originated for investor-driven lenders increased by 133% year-over-year.

Reggie Booker, MBA’s associate vice president of commercial research, observed, “The most notable increase was the 80% rise in depository lending, driven in part by the large volume of bank-held loans maturing this year and the need to refinance those positions. While overall activity declined from the fourth quarter of 2025, that slowdown is consistent with typical first-quarter seasonality and does not detract from the broader improvement in market conditions.”

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