CRE lending picks up in Q2

CBRE’s lender survey indicated life company lenders had another strong quarter in second quarter 2019, accounting for 26 percent of non-agency commercial mortgage closings — up from 21 percent a year ago, according to the CBRE Lending Momentum Index. Banks continued to lead the four major lender categories, accounting for 35 percent of loan closings.

The CBRE Lending Momentum Index closed at a value of 244 (2005 = 100) in June, up by 2.3 percent from March’s close. Compared with a year ago, the index is up 20.8 points, following a slow start during the first quarter.

Underwriting on loans tracked by CBRE Capital Markets was slightly more conservative in the second quarter, with increases in underwritten cap rates and debt yields. The percentage of loans carrying either partial or ful