Second-quarter commercial real estate loans increased 11% and the average loan size was up 5% from a year ago, according to the CBRE Lending Momentum Index.

The index, which tracks the pace of CBRE-originated commercial loan closings in the U.S. over a 36-month period, had a reading of 1.0 at the end of the second quarter this year. The latest reading was below the five-year high of 1.5 the index registered in the first quarter of 2026 and the 1.3 reading in the second quarter of 2025, but it still signifies historically elevated levels. Higher readings signal stronger lending momentum and improved sentiment.

The index found that commercial mortgage loan spreads narrowed by 21 basis points year over year to an average of 204 bps in the second quarter. Multifamily loan spreads narrowed by 15 bps since the second quarter of 2025 to sit at 162 bps. This indicates that the extra percentage points that lenders add to a baseline benchmark rate, such as U.S. Treasurys, are decreasing.

Loan-to-value ratios tightened during the quarter, meaning lenders were competing on price rather than leverage. The figures are based on fixed-rate, five- to 10-year permanent loans.

James Millon, CBRE’s president and co-head of capital markets for the U.S. and Canada, said in a press release that the company isn’t seeing a change in the availability of capital in the credit space.

“Given deployment objectives, the necessity to match assets and liabilities, and strong investor demand for credit, fixed-rate lenders are making concessions on credit spreads to compete for product — many are total return driven, which will partially offset further widening in benchmarks,” Millon stated.

According to Millon, even the most committed fixed-rate borrowers are moving toward floating rate structures, responding to both the cost differential and the prepayment optionality that floaters provide.

Alternative lenders led CBRE’s non-agency loan closings in the second quarter, accounting for 38% of total volume, up from 34% a year ago, as debt fund activity continued to grow. Banks were next with 30% of loan closings, an increase from 24% in the second quarter of 2025.

Life insurance companies accounted for 21% of non-agency loan volumes. Commercial mortgage-backed securities lenders were responsible for 11% of non-agency loan volume, down from 19% a year ago.