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Commercial and multifamily mortgage debt outstanding bumped up by $47.7 billion, or 1%, in the third quarter, according to the latest quarterly report from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). The total mortgage debt outstanding increased to $4.75 trillion at the end of the quarter.

Multifamily mortgage debt outstanding rose $29.8 billion, or 1.4%, to $2.12 trillion quarter over quarter. According to the MBA, in dollar terms, agency and government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) portfolios and mortgage-backed securities (MBS) saw a $12.3 billion, or 1.2%, increase in their holdings of multifamily mortgage debt. Life insurance companies increased their holdings by $10 billion, or 4.3%; banks and thrifts increased by $4.7 billion, or 0.8%.

“Every major capital source for commercial mortgage debt increased its holdings of mortgages during the third quarter of 2024,” said Jamie Woodwell, MBA’s head of commercial real estate research. “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 commercial real estate 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.”

At 38%, commercial banks continue to hold the largest share of commercial and multifamily mortgages at $1.8 trillion. Agency and GSE portfolios and MBS are the second-largest holders of commercial/multifamily mortgages at $1.03 trillion, or 22%. In addition, life insurance companies hold $757 billion, or 16%; and commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS), collateralized debt obligation (CDO), and other asset-backed securities (ABS) issues hold $619 billion, or 13%.

For multifamily, agency and GSE portfolios and MBS hold 49% of the share of debt outstanding at $1.03 billion, followed by banks and thrifts with $630 billion, or 30%; life insurance companies with $244 billion, or 12%; state and local government with $99 billion, or 5%; and CMBS, CDO, and other ABS issues with $68 billion, or 3%.