Delinquent loans are ticking down, but the volume of charged-off loans is rising and economic uncertainty has made some banks and borrowers hit “pause.” Welcome to the 2025 commercial real estate lending market.
In a year that saw banks take up a larger chunk of the commercial real estate lending pool, local and regional banks were among the top local CRE lenders.
Commercial real estate lending accelerated in 2024 and banks emerged as the dominant lender type nationwide, as well as in Massachusetts.
Prolonged high interest rates may drive credit risk at banks with high commercial real estate exposures, according to a new survey by Moody’s.
An index of commercial lending activity declined 52 percent in the past year as financial institutions tightened their underwriting standards, according to an industry report.
Funding pressures, regulatory capital weaknesses and higher risks in the commercial real estate loan portfolios dragged Moody’s credit ratings of two sizeable banks operating in the Massachusetts market.
The bankers have spoken: Credit standards were tightened and demand for loans was weak in the second quarter of the year, trends that will continue towards the second half of the year.
A top real estate industry trade group got to take a victory lap last week as federal banking regulators announced some rule changes around how banks will be required to deal with a wave of office loans that are maturing just as future demand for office space looks shaky.
Nationwide commercial and multifamily mortgage lending is expected to fall this year by 15 percent, according to an updated forecast from the Mortgage Bankers Association.
Amid the rapid rise in interest rates and economic uncertainties, community banks continue to close new commercial real estate loans, including for multifamily projects looking to address the region’s housing needs. But the money isn’t flowing as freely as it might once have.
Local lenders have emerged as big winners from the 65 percent year-over-year- growth in commercial mortgage volumes statewide this year. But the risk of a recession is causing some to grow more cautious.
The federal regulator governing credit unions is dramatically increasing the threshold for when an appraisal is required in commercial real estate loans.
You might not immediately make the connection between commercial real estate and skiing, but Tanis Meakin does.
