Rising demand and
Multifamily loans totaled over $339.2 billion in 2018 — an annual swell of 19% — breaking the
"Borrowing and lending backed by multifamily rental properties set a new record in 2018, driven by strong property fundamentals, rising property values, low interest rates, and strong demand from both borrowers and lenders," Jamie Woodwell, the
A surge in total loans drove the growing volume. There were 57,200 multifamily loans originated by 2,669 firms in 2018, year-over-year jumps of 28% and 4%, respectively, from 44,623 and 2,554 in 2017.
Of 2018's loans, 27% were $1 million or less, 26% were between $1 million and $3 million, 30% were between $3 million and $10 million, and 17% were over $10 million.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac occupied the greatest share of end investment. The GSEs comprised 42% or over $142.3 billion of the volume.
Wells Fargo, CBRE Capital Markets and JPMorgan Chase repeated in 2018 as the top three multifamily lenders by total dollar volume. They combine to account for $59.7 billion of all volume and 7,302 in multifamily loans last year.