A Little Good News About Commercial/Multifamily Loan Originations

The Mortgage Bankers Association recently reported the results of its Quarterly Survey of Commercial/Multifamily Mortgage Bankers Originations. According to the report, second-quarter 2009 loan originations were up 50% from the first quarter of this year, although still down 54% from the second quarter of 2008. The dramatic improvement shown over Q1 2009 in large part reflects the minimal loan activity during the first quarter. The report quotes MBA VP of Commercial Real Estate Research Jamie Woodwell as saying that the second-quarter increase "likely signals that commercial and multifamily mortgage originations bottomed in the first quarter of 2009."