US Commercial and Multifamily Mortgage Debt Outstanding Increases 1.0% in Q3

On Friday, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) released its latest Commercial/Multifamily Mortgage Debt Outstanding Quarterly report. In Q3, the level of commercial/multifamily mortgage debt outstanding increased 1.0%, or $47.7 billion.

Total commercial/multifamily mortgage debt outstanding rose to $4.75 trillion at the end of Q3. Multifamily mortgage debt alone increased 1.4%, or $29.8 billion, to $2.12 trillion.

MBA notes that the four largest investor groups are: banks and thrifts; federal agency and government sponsored enterprise (GSE) portfolios and mortgage-backed securities (MBS); life insurance companies; and commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS), collateralized debt obligation (CDO), and other asset-backed securities (ABS) issues.

According to MBA data, commercial banks continue to hold the largest share of commercial/multifamily mortgages, accounting for 38%, or $1.8 trillion. Agency and GSE portfolios and MBS are the second-largest holders at 22%, or $1.03 trillion. Life insurance companies hold 16%, or $757 billion. CMBS, CDO, and other ABS issuers account for 13%, or $619 billion. (Many life insurance companies, banks, and GSEs purchase and hold CMBS, CDO, and other ABS issuances, which are categorized as “CMBS, CDO, and other ABS” in the report.)

In a statement accompanying the report, MBA Head of Commercial Real Estate Research Jamie Woodwell said:

“Every major capital source for commercial mortgage debt increased its holdings of mortgages during the third quarter of 2024. Life insurance companies led the way, accounting for 44% of the quarterly increase and boosting their commercial mortgage holdings by nearly 3%. That increase contrasts with banks, which increased their balances of CRE mortgages during the quarter by only 0.3%. For the ninth quarter in a row, aggregate balances backed by multifamily properties increased more than those backed by other property types.”