According to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), lenders provided a total of $246.2 billion in new mortgages for apartment buildings with five or more units in 2023, representing a significant decrease of 49% compared to the previous year. The MBA’s annual report on the multifamily lending market also revealed that over half of active lenders made five or fewer loans throughout the year.
The decline in multifamily lending can be attributed to a decrease in sales transactions and fewer property owners seeking loan refinancing, as stated by Jamie Woodwell, head of commercial real estate research at MBA. Despite this drop in activity, there are still over 2,500 different lenders participating in this market and making more than 36,000 mortgage loans backed by multifamily properties ranging from tens of thousands to hundreds of millions.
The $246.2 billion originated for multifamily mortgages came from various sources with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac accounting for the largest share at 42%. The top five lenders based on dollar volume were Berkadia, Walker & Dunlop,JPMorgan Chase,CBRE,and Greystone according to data from MBA’s report.
