Mortgage debt for the commercial and multifamily sectors increased by $46.8 billion or 1% in the first quarter of 2025, according to a quarterly report issued Tuesday by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).
The increase brought total outstanding commercial and multifamily mortgage debt to $4.81 trillion as of the close of the first quarter. Multifamily mortgage debt stood at $2.16 trillion, a 0.9% gain from the fourth quarter of 2024.
“Despite lower origination volumes, the overall level of commercial and multifamily mortgage debt rose in the first quarter of 2025,” said Reggie Booker, MBA’s associate vice president of commercial real estate research, in a press release. “This increase reflects the extended duration of outstanding loans and the continued appetite for real estate investment across key investor groups.”
The MBA report noted that commercial banks hold the largest share of commercial and multifamily mortgages at $1.8 trillion, or 38%. Federal agencies and government-sponsored enterprises hold 22% of those mortgages and life insurance companies hold 16%. Commercial mortgage-backed securities, collateralized debt obligations and other asset-backed securities combine to hold 13%.
On a percentage basis, real estate investment trusts (REITs) saw the largest increase in commercial and multifamily mortgage holdings in the first quarter at 4%. Private pension funds had the steepest quarterly decline, with holdings decreasing 10.6%.
