The product type with the biggest leap in loan production compared to a year ago was healthcare. Pictured is a 60,000-square-foot medical office building in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, that Gantry recently arranged the refinancing for through a pension fund lender.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Commercial and multifamily mortgage loan originations were 52 percent higher in the first quarter of 2026 compared to first-quarter 2025, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Quarterly Survey of Commercial/Multifamily Mortgage Bankers Originations. First-quarter production falls in line with the organization’s 2026 forecast made in February that commercial and multifamily loan originations this year would increase by 27 percent compared to 2025.

Among capital sources, the dollar volume of loans originated for investor-driven lenders increased by 133 percent year-over-year in the first quarter. There was also an 80 percent increase in loans for depositories (i.e. banks and credit unions); a 38 percent increase in government-sponsored enterprises (i.e. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac); and a 9 percent increase in life company loans. There was also a14 percent decline in commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) loans compared to a year ago.

“The most notable increase was the 80 percent rise in depository lending, driven in part by the large volume of bank-held loans maturing this year and the need to refinance those positions,” says Reggie Booker, MBA’s associate vice president of commercial research. “The slowdown [from fourth-quarter 2025] is consistent with typical first-quarter seasonality and does not detract from the broader improvement in market conditions.”

Among product types, there was a 209 percent year-over-year increase in the dollar volume of loans for healthcare properties; 148 percent increase for retail properties; 85 percent increase for hotel properties; 56 percent increase for industrial properties; and a 49 percent increase for multifamily properties. Office property loan originations decreased 2 percent compared to first-quarter 2025.

Based in Washington, D.C., the MBA is the national association for the real estate finance industry. The association was originally founded in 1913 and represents more than 2,000 member companies.

— Staff Reports