Multifamily Lending Declines 49% Year-Over-Year in 2023

On Thursday, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) released its annual report of multifamily lending. In 2023, 2,520 different multifamily lenders provided a total of $246.2 billion in new mortgages for apartment buildings with five or more units.

Last year’s $246.2 billion in multifamily lending volume represents a 49% decline from 2022. Fifty-one percent of the active lenders made five or fewer multifamily loans over the course of the year.

According to MBA, multifamily mortgages originated in 2023 went to a variety of investors. By dollar volume, the greatest share—42% of the total—went to Government Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The top five multifamily lenders in 2023 by dollar volume were Berkadia, Walker & Dunlop, JP Morgan Chase & Company, CBRE, and Greystone.

Adding background and analysis to the report, MBA Head of Commercial Real Estate Research Jamie Woodwell said:

“Multifamily lending fell by roughly half in 2023 as sales transactions declined and far 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.”