As residential foreclosures get most of the publicity, the delinquency rates for mortgages in the commercial sector are definitely increasing, this is according to the data released by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).

MBA’s Commercial/Multifamily Delinquency Report tracks commercial delinquencies amid the five investor group; each has delinquencies in its own way. Thus, rates are not comparable from one group to another.

In the third quarter the 30+ day delinquency rate for the loans are held in the commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) increased .17 percentage points up to 4.06 percent throughout the third quarter. Life insurance companies held mortgages that are 60 or more days delinquent were up 0.08 percentage points to 0.23 percent and the 60+ day rate on multifamily loans in Fannie Mae’s portfolio increased by 0.11 percentage points to 0.62 percent.  Mortgages in FDIC-insured banks and thrifts were up 0.51 basis points to 3.43 percent and multi-family loans held by Freddie Mac were unchanged from the second quarter at 0.11 percent.

The CMBS figures include mortgages in foreclosure and are the only ones to include real estate owned in both the numerator and denominator of the computation.  CMBS loans include all “private label” non-Ginnie Mae, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac issued loans that are currently outstanding.  Life Insurance, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac owned loans include those in foreclosure. While the FDIC loans includes foreclosures and have a huge number of “owner occupied” commercial loans that are supported by the income of the resident business than through rentals. None of the figures in the Association’s report include construction and development loans.

The increases in several portfolios since the end of the second quarter are significant, however, the impact of the current problems become more apparent if the third quarter results are measured year over year.