Commercial and multifamily mortgage originations grew 88% in the fourth quarter of 2010 when compared to 4Q 2009

This article from Housing Wire quoting from the Mortgage Bankers Association Fourth Quarter Commercial Real Estate-Multifamily Finance Quarterly Report  

·         Commercial and multifamily mortgage originations grew 88% in the fourth quarter of 2010 when compared to 4Q 2009 

·         Loans for conduits for CMBS (commercial backed mortgage securities) saw a 60-fold increase compared to last year’s fourth quarter

·         There was also a 170% increase in loans for life insurance companies, a 65 percent increase for Government Sponsored Enterprises (or GSEs – Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac), and loans originated for commercial bank portfolios saw a decrease of 25 percent

·         A 6,000 percent increase in origination for CMBS (not an April Fools joke). The MBA report said. "After being nearly dormant for the previous two-and-a-half years, more than $6 billion of CMBS was issued in the fourth quarter."