Freddie Mac Singles Out Top 2013 M-F Lenders

By Keith Loria, Contributing Editor

John Cannon, of Freddie Mac

After a year that saw Freddie Mac settle nearly $26 billion in new multi-family volume from 388,000 rental units, its second largest figures ever following 2012’s record-setting year, the GSE announced its top lenders for 2013.

“We obviously had a very successful year—managing our business to the origination cap as set forth by our regulator, producing attractive and appropriate risk adjusted returns for our stakeholders and maintaining industry leading credit metrics,” John Cannon, senior vice president of Freddie Mac’s multi-family production, sales & marketing, told Commercial Property Executive. “Our Program Plus network of Originators represents best in class in the mortgage banking business.”

The list consists of Freddie Mac lenders in its Program Plus network who transacted the most financing volume in 2013.

Leading the way as its Top Program Plus Seller was CBRE Capital Markets with $5.7 billion
.

“CBRE is an outstanding mortgage banking firm comprised of seasoned professionals that foster deep personal relationships with our staff and take the time to really understand our investment needs,” Cannon added. “These things, combined with knowing where a borrower can successfully transact, enable all parties to the loan get to a place where we can do business quickly and profitably.”

CBRE was followed by Berkadia Commercial Mortgage with $3.7 billion, Walker & Dunlop with 2 billion
, KeyBank
 with 1.5 billion and NorthMarq with 1.4 billion.

The Top Program Plus Sellers by Freddie Mac Multi-Family Region in the Southeast Region was Jones Lang LaSalle, Atlanta, Ga.; in the Central Region was CBRE Capital Markets, Dallas, Texas; in the Western Region was CBRE Capital Markets, Newport Beach, Calif.; and in the Northeast Region, Berkadia Commercial Mortgage, Horsham, Pa.

Freddie Mac’s Top Targeted Affordable Housing Sellers consisted of Citibank, Oak Grove Capital and Wells Fargo Multi-Family Capital.

Comprising its Top Sellers of Very Low-Income Housing Units were Citibank, Berkadia Commercial Mortgage and CBRE Capital Markets.

Its Top Conventional Structured Transactions Sellers were Berkadia Commercial Mortgage, followed by Holliday Fenoglio Fowler.

The GSE’s Top Seniors Housing Sellers were  Housing Seller were Berkadia Commercial Mortgage and KeyBank.

According to Cannon, Freddie Mac’s most successful originators tend to be those firms that act as mortgage bankers rather than mortgage brokers, walking that fine line between acting in a fiduciary capacity as a lender and being an advocate for the borrower.

Approximately 90 percent of the apartment units financed have rents that are affordable to residents earning less than the Area Median Income. In addition, around one in six units are affordable to residents with very low incomes, earning less than half of the Area Median Income.