After falling for two consecutive months, the delinquency rate for commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) loans increased to 6.65% in March, according to data released this week by Trepp.
The Trepp CMBS Delinquency Rate rose 0.35% last month from February’s 6.30% rate, bringing it close to its four-year high. The overall delinquent balance was $39.3 billion in March, up from $36.0 billion in February.
A primary driver of the increase was a 0.98% jump in delinquent commercial loans for the multifamily apartment sector, which reached 5.44% in March. The delinquency rate of that sector has now increased 1.84% over the past year.
The lodging sector also saw a steep climb, rising 0.76% last month to 7.19%. Industrial and retail delinquency rates were up 0.26% and 0.33%, respectively.
The office sector saw its month-over-month delinquency rate tick down slightly by two basis points to 9.76%.
The Trepp report notes that the percentage of seriously delinquent loans hit 6.32% in March, up 0.41% from the prior month.
