Fierce Competition Amongst Lenders in Seattle Apartment Market
Seattle, Wash. (October 30, 2019) – The first annual multifamily lending market update, released by the multifamily investment team led by Dylan Simon and Jerrid Anderson of Kidder Mathews, indicates that lending on multifamily properties in the Puget Sound region is on track for a banner year.
According to the study authored by debt finance specialist Alex Mundy, multifamily lending is up 16% in the first seven months of 2019 from the same period in 2018.
Banks remain the largest multifamily lenders by volume with 35% market share despite a 13% decline in loan volume versus 2018. Rising loan volumes were driven by new investment from Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac (up 24%), life insurance companies (up 43%), and CMBS conduits (up 164%).
Seattle’s diverse pool of national lenders reflects its persisting importance as a key investment center, while rising loan volumes are the result of the region’s growing supply of apartments and the increasing income of multifamily assets.
In 2018, Wells Fargo was the top multifamily originator in the region out of 168 active lenders. Other top lenders by volume include CBRE for agency, PGIM for life companies, Citibank for CMBS, and Pyatt Broadmark for debt funds.
“Our objective with this study was to build a comprehensive source of information on the multifamily lending market that didn’t exist before,” Mundy reveals.
“We now have the data to better understand the number of competitive options available for investors, the locations attracting most interest from capital sources, and the optimal times for borrowers to refinance and take advantage of seasonal lulls in the market.”
A digital copy of the full 2019 Multifamily Lending Market Update is available for download at DylanSimon.com/Research.