Commercial and multifamily mortgage delinquencies remained at record lows in the third quarter of 2019, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s latest Commercial/Multifamily Delinquency Report.

“Loans financing commercial and multifamily properties continue to perform very well,” said Jamie Woodwell, MBA vice president of commercial real estate research. “Delinquency rates are at or near record lows for nearly every capital source, with the rate for commercial mortgages held by banks at its lowest since the inception of the series 25 years ago.”

“Solid property fundamentals, strong property values and low interest rates are all helping to keep delinquencies down,” Woodwell said.

MBA’s quarterly analysis looks at commercial/multifamily delinquency rates for five of the largest investor-groups: commercial banks and thrifts, commercial mortgage-backed securities, life insurance companies, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Together, these groups hold more than 80 percent of commercial/multifamily mortgage debt outstanding.

Here were the delinquency rates for each group for the third quarter:

• Banks and thrifts (90 or more days delinquent or in non-accrual): 0.45%, a decrease of 0.01 percentage points from the second quarter
• Life company portfolios (60 or more days delinquent): 0.03%, a decrease of 0.01 from the second quarter
• Fannie Mae (60 or more days delinquent): 0.06%, an increase of 0.01 percentage points from the second quarter
• Freddie Mac (60 or more days delinquent): 0.04%, an increase of 0.01 from the second quarter
• CMBS (30 or more days delinquent or in REO): 2.29%, a decrease of 0.17 percentage points from the second quarter

Commercial and multifamily are having a strong year as originations rose 24% from the third quarter of 2018 and 9% from the second quarter in the third quarter this year, a recent MBA survey states.

This should help propel multifamily originations, which are set to hit yet another all-time high in both 2019 and 2020, according to the MBA.