February saw CMBS delinquencies drop 47 basis points since January to 6.78 percent — the lowest level since early 2010 — according to the latest report from Trepp. But, while the plunge was the largest recorded in a number of months, a closer look shows that there is a lot more to the drop than on-time payments.

After nine consecutive months of improvement, the new rate is 264 basis points lower than just a year ago, and 356 basis points lower than the all-time peak from summer 2012. But even though approximately $1.3 billion in loans cured during February, resulting in downward pressure on the delinquency rate of about 25 basis points, these were matched by the nearly $1.4 billion in new delinquencies recorded during the month.

The overall drop had a much bigger push from the more than $2.6 billion in previously delinquent loans that were resolved with losses during the month. It was also fueled by a heavy dose of distressed asset sales, with a big chunk of the ro