Delinquency on commercial mortgages owned by U.S. financial institutions or held in securitizations is at the highest level since 2001. During just the past year, commercial mortgage delinquency has more than doubled.
Delinquency of at least 90 days on commercial mortgages owned by banks and thrifts rose to 2.28 percent in the first quarter, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported today. Late payments rose from 1.62 percent in the fourth quarter and were more than double the 1.01 percent a year earlier.
Late payments on loans owned by banks were higher than for any other investor group. Even more significant was that the 2.28 percent rate was based on 90-day delinquency — which is always lower than the 60- or 30-day rate.
Loans held in commercial mortgage-backed securities had a 30-day delinquency level of 1.85 percent, rising from the fourth quarter’s 1.17 percent and the first-quarter 2008’s 0.48 percent.
At Fannie Mae, multifamily delinquency of at least 60 days was 0.34 percent at the end of the first quarter, higher than 0.30 percent at the end of the prior period and 0.09 percent a year earlier.
“Delinquency rates on commercial and multifamily mortgages held by banks and thrifts, by Fannie Mae and in commercial mortgage-backed securities are all now at levels higher than at any time since the 2001 recession,” MBA commercial executive Jamie Woodwell said in the report.
Delinquency of at least three months on multifamily loans owned or managed by Freddie Mac was 0.09 percent on March 31, surging from 0.01 percent on Dec. 31. A year earlier, Freddie’s 60-day rate was 0.04 percent. Freddie reported that delinquency rose to 0.10 percent as of April 30.
On loans owned by life insurance companies, 60-day delinquency was just 0.12 at the end of the first quarter, higher than 0.07 percent three months earlier. Still, life insurers have seen delinquency rise 12-fold from 0.01 percent in the first-quarter 2008.
“First quarter delinquency rates on commercial mortgages held by life insurance companies remained below the 2001 recession levels,” Woodwell commented.
