The Top Multifamily Real Estate Lenders of 2022 Include CBRE, Berkadia, and Walker and Dunlop
According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, multifamily lending reached an all-time peak of $470 million in 2021, a 30% increase from the $359.7 billion of multifamily loans issued in 2021. Multifamily lending is expected to reach a new high of $493 billion in 2022, a 5% increase from 2021.
This means that multifamily is by far the largest asset class when it comes to financing, representing around 68% of the $683.2 billion of commercial and multifamily real estate loans issued in 2021. It should be noted that origination numbers may be much higher due to the fact that the Mortgage Bankers Association does not collect information from many small multifamily lenders.
In this list, we review and profile the largest multifamily lenders of 2021, which will likely be the largest multifamily lenders of 2022. We have sourced our data from Multi-Housing News’ list of the top multifamily mortgage banking and brokerage firms of 2022. It should be noted that, since multifamily is such a dominant asset class, each of these lenders also made the list of the top commercial real estate lenders of 2022.
CBRE Multifamily Capital: $59.8 Billion
CBRE Multifamily Capital issued $58.9 billion in multifamily loans in 2021, making it the number one lender on this list. CBRE offers CMBS loans, HUD multifamily loans, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac multifamily loans, and private direct lending options. CBRE was ranked as the second-largest Freddie Mac multifamily lender of 2021 with $9.2 billion in originations, and the largest Fannie Mae DUS lender of 2021 with $7 billion of Fannie Mae multifamily loan originations.
In addition to multifamily properties, CBRE also finances office, industrial, hospitality, healthcare, and retail properties. CBRE is currently rated as the largest commercial property services and investment company in the world. In addition to lending, it offers services such as appraisals, leasing services, property and investment management, and real estate development advisory services. CBRE is a member of the Fortune 500 and has more than 100,000 employees.
CBRE is headquartered in Los Angeles, California, and is currently led by CEO Robert Sulentic.
Walker & Dunlop: $42.4 Billion
Walker & Dunlop, Inc. originated $36.6 billion of multifamily loans in 2021, making it the number two lender on this list. The firm offers a variety of multifamily financing options, including Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac multifamily loans, HUD multifamily financing, CMBS loans, and direct loans. In addition to financing multifamily properties, the company also finances healthcare, office, retail, industrial, and hospitality assets.
Walker & Dunlop was ranked as the fourth largest Fannie Mae multifamily lender of 2021, with $6.3 billion in loans issued, and the largest Fannie Mae DUS lender of 2021, with $9.6 billion in loans issued. The company is also a major player in loan servicing, ranking as one of the largest commercial loan servicers in the U.S., with a servicing portfolio of more than $100 billion.
Walker & Dunlop also offers appraisal services, asset management, investment management, and investment sales services. As a member of the S&P 600, the company is one of the largest publicly-traded real estate firms in the U.S.
Walker & Dunlop is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, and is currently led by chairman and CEO Willy Walker.
Berkadia Commercial Mortgage: $30.8 Billion
Berkadia Commercial Mortgage issued $30.8 billion in multifamily real estate loans in 2021, placing it number three on this list. Berkadia issued $10.5 billion in Freddie Mac multifamily loans in 2021, making it the largest Freddie Mac multifamily lender for that year. The company also was ranked as a top ten Fannie Mae multifamily lender and was ranked as the third-largest HUD multifamily lender of 2021. In addition to market-rate multifamily financing, Berkadia also has a strong focus on financing senior living, affordable housing, healthcare properties, student housing, and manufactured housing assets.
In addition, Berkadia is also an ideal lender for smaller balance borrowers, having originated $1.1 billion in Freddie Mac SBL and Fannie Mae Small Loans since 2019. Berkadia is also a large mortgage servicer and has a sizable investment sales division. Berkadia is a 50/50 joint venture between Berkshire Hathaway and Jeffries and was founded in 2009, making it one of the newer companies on this list.
Berkadia Commercial Mortgage is headquartered in New York City currently led by CEO Justin Wheeler.
KeyBank Real Estate Capital: $19.9 Billion
KeyBank Real Estate Capital issued $19.9 billion in apartment loans in 2021, 10% more than it issued in 2020. KeyBank is a HUD, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac multifamily lender. The company issued $3.4 billion in Freddie Mac multifamily loans in 2021, making it the seventh-largest Freddie Mac apartment lender for that year. It also ranked as the tenth-largest Fannie Mae DUS lender of 2021, originating $3.6 billion in originations in DUS loans.
In addition to direct lending, KeyBank also brokers CMBS loans and life company loans for multifamily borrowers. KeyBank is also a major loan servicer and real estate asset manager. KeyBank manages more than $183 billion in assets and, in 2021, was ranked as the 20th largest bank in the U.S.
KeyBank is headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, and is currently led by CEO Chris Gorman.
Arbor Commercial Funding: $13.7 Billion
In 2021, Arbor Commercial Funding originated $13.4 billion in multifamily loans, accounting for more than 95% of its total commercial loan issuance of $13.7 billion. Arbor finances both market-rate and affordable apartment properties, as well as single-family rentals, hotels, and seniors housing assets. Arbor is an active, HUD, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac multifamily lender. The firm issued $3.7 billion in Fannie Mae multifamily loans in 2021 and was ranked as the number one Fannie Mae's small multifamily lender for that year. Arbor is also a major loan servicer, and currently services more than $8 billion in commercial loans. In addition to HUD and agency multifamily loans, the company also offers CMBS and direct lending options for multifamily and commercial borrowers.
Arbor also manages Arbor Realty Trust, a publicly-traded mortgage REIT. Arbor’s headquarters are located in New York City and the firm is currently led by CEO Ivan Kaufman.
PGIM Real Estate: $12.4 Billion
PGIM Real Estate issued $12.4 billion of multifamily loans in 2021, more than half of the $24.3 in commercial real estate loans it originated in 2021. Like most other lenders on this list, PGIM is a Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and HUD multifamily lender.
In addition to traditional multifamily financing, PGIM also provides agricultural loans, mezzanine loans, and non-recourse transitional financing. In addition to multifamily and commercial real estate financing, PGIM has a large real estate private equity division, with more than $80 billion in assets under management, as well as offering publicly-traded REITs. PGIM is the investment management division of the financial services giant Prudential Financial, Inc.
PGIM is headquartered in Newark, NJ, and is currently led by CEO David Hunt.
Greystone: $16.7 Billion
Greystone originated $12.4 billion in multifamily loans in 2021, accounting for a large portion of the $16.6 billion in commercial property loans it issued that year. In addition to offering Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and HUD multifamily financing, the firm also offers bridge loans, mezzanine loans, and CMBS financing. Greystone issued $4.3 billion in Fannie Mae DUS loans and $3.1 billion in Freddie Mac multifamily loans in 2021, placing it as a top Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac multifamily lender for that year.
Greystone’s services expand past commercial lending into investment sales, loan servicing, and structure finance advisor services. The company is currently one of the largest loan servicers in the United States, with a servicing portfolio of more than $80 billion.
Greystone is headquartered in New York City and is currently led by CEO Stephen Rosenberg.
Bellwether Enterprise: $6.5 Billion
Bellwether Enterprise originated $6.5 billion in multifamily mortgages in 2021, a sizable portion of the $10.5 billion in commercial mortgages it originated that year. The company finances market-rate multifamily properties as well as affordable housing, manufactured housing, seniors housing, student housing, workforce housing, office, retail, self-storage, and industrial properties.
Unlike most firms on this list, Bellwether Enterprise mainly brokers loans for other lenders instead of using its own capital. Bellwether Enterprise arranges CMBS financing, life company loans, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and HUD multifamily loans, USDA loans financing, bank loans, bridge loans, JV equity financing, and direct bond placements. The firm is also a major loan servicer and provides investment sales services to a broad array of clients.
Bellwether Enterprise is headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, and is currently led by CEO Ned Huffman.
Cushman & Wakefield: $4.7 Billion
Cushman & Wakefield originated $4.7 billion of multifamily loans in 2021, approximately 25% of the $19.4 billion in commercial property loans they originated that year. Cushman and & Wakefield is unique among commercial lending firms due to the fact that, in addition to conventional multifamily and commercial real estate lending, it also focuses on lending to niche property types, such as data centers and life science research facilities.
In addition to commercial and multifamily lending, the company offers services including leasing advisory, asset management, and investment management. Cushman & Wakefield, as one of the world’s largest commercial real estate services firms, has around 50,000 worldwide.
Cushman & Wakefield is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, and is currently led by CEO W. Brett White.
Merchants Capital Corp.: $5.08 Billion
Merchants Capital Corp. originated $5.08 billion in multifamily loans in 2021, the vast majority of the $5.6 billion in commercial real estate loans it issued that year. previous year. In addition to financing market-rate multifamily properties, the firm has a strong focus on financing affordable housing and seniors housing assets.
In addition to being a Freddie Mac Optigo Targeted Affordable Housing (TAH) Seller/Servicer, and a Fannie Mae Multifamily Affordable Lender, the company is also a HUD/FHA multifamily lender, ranking number six by loan volume and originating $1.65 billion of HUD multifamily loans in 2021. Merchant’s Capital Corp. also focuses on providing LIHTC-based financing through the aforementioned programs, as well as USDA multifamily and commercial loans.
Merchants Capital Corp. is headquartered in Carmel, Indiana, and is currently led by CEO Michael Dury.