Commercial and multifamily mortgage origination volumes during the second quarter were up 25 percent nationally from the same time last year, and up 39 percent from the first quarter of 2012, according to a quarterly survey from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).

 "Low interest rates and continued stabilization and growth in the commercial real estate markets are helping support new loan originations, and every major investor group increased their lending over the quarter," said Jamie Woodwell, MBA’s vice president of commercial real estate research, in a statement. 

The increase in commercial and multifamily lending volume was driven by increases in originations for retail and hotel properties, according to the MBA. The increase included a 56 percent jump in the dollar volume of loans for retail properties, a 22 percent increase for hotel properties, a 19 percent increase for multifamily properties and a 15 percent increase for office properties. Those gains offset a 5 percent decrease in industrial property loans. 

Second quarter 2012 commercial and multifamily mortgage originations were 39 percent higher than originations in the first quarter of 2012. Compared to the first quarter of 2012, second quarter originations for hotel properties increased 147 percent, according to the MBA. There was a 66 percent increase for office properties, a 47 percent increase for industrial properties, a 29 percent increase for retail properties and a 21 percent increase for multifamily properties.