Top 20 Multifamily Mortgage Banking Firms of 2021
More than half the highest-ranking companies are licensed GSE affiliates.
You can also read our other Mortgage Banking Firms rankings.
Rank | Company Name | Multifamily Origination Volume ($MM) from 10/01/19 to 09/30/20 | Overall Origination Volume ($MM) from 10/01/19 to 09/30/20 | Licensed GSE Affiliate |
1 | KeyBank Real Estate Capital* | $12,500.0 | $ 38,200.0 | x |
2 | Walker & Dunlop | $ 28,091.0 | $ 31,990.7 | x |
3 | Greystone | $ 9,800.0 | $ 14,000.0 | x |
4 | Berkadia | $ 21,083.3 | $ 24,745.6 | x |
5 | CBRE | $ 5,242.5 | $ 40,384.0 | x |
6 | Merchants Capital Corp. | $ 3,589.0 | $ 3,883.9 | x |
7 | PGIM Real Estate | $ 10,683.8 | $ 16,772.1 | x |
8 | Lument | $ 8,753.3 | $ 9,214.0 | x |
9 | NorthMarq | $ 6,840.0 | $ 12,000.0 | x |
10 | Arbor Realty Trust Inc. | $7,200.0 | $ 7,500.0 | x |
11 | Gershman Investment Corp. | $ 1,414.2 | $ 1,571.3 | x |
12 | Greysteel | $ 161.6 | $ 269.3 | – |
13 | Financial Federal Bank | $ 129.0 | $ 215.0 | – |
14 | Marcus & Millichap Capital Corp. (MMCC) | $ 3,915.6 | $ 6,550.0 | – |
15 | Gantry | $ 1,424.6 | $ 3,313.0 | – |
16 | Cushman & Wakefield | $ 3,399.2 | $ 12,054.0 | – |
17 | Bellwether Enterprise | $ 3,653.5 | $ 7,094.1 | – |
18 | M&T Realty Capital Corp. | $ 2,844.0 | $ 3.792.0 | x |
19 | MetLife Investment Management | $ 3,069.0 | $ 9,900.0 | – |
20 | Bernard Financial Group | $ 304.8 | $ 923.6 | – |
* KeyBank Real Estate Capital’s figures reflect a fiscal year of Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2020.
Though we make every effort to include all major multifamily lenders, several notable firms (among them JLL, Bank of America and Eastdil Secured) did not participate this year.
To be included in upcoming surveys, email Jeff Hamann at [email protected].
Ready for a rebound
Since the emergency Federal Reserve rate cuts in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, the benchmark interest rate has been in the 0 percent to 0.25 percent range. While this dramatic decrease in interest rates has significant economic impacts that will be felt for years to come, one positive for the multifamily real estate industry was an immediate drop in borrowing costs, though many real estate investors took a wait-and-see approach.
Twelve of our Top 20 mortgage banking firms reported a decline in origination volume in the 12 months ending in September compared to the same period in 2019.
In the 2021 ranking of the top multifamily mortgage banking firms, KeyBank Real Estate Capital takes first place, with a large portion of its $38.2 billion in originations in the multifamily sector in 2020. Rounding out the Top 3 are Walker & Dunlop with $28 billion and Greystone with nearly $10 billion in multifamily originations. Combined, our Top 20 mortgage banking firms provided more than $152 billion in multifamily loans and nearly $250 billion in overall originations over the past 12 months. More than half of the top companies are licensed government-sponsored enterprise affiliates, with the highest percentage of lending activity occurring in the multifamily sector.
This year, we could see increased lending, as many multifamily investors remained on the sidelines for the majority of 2020. We asked our Top 20 firms about the changes they predict for origination volumes in 2021, and none expected a decrease from 2020 totals. As the timeline for vaccine distribution remains promising, many multifamily investors hope to return to more normal deal volume in 2021, leading to an increased need for mortgage banking firms.
Methodology
The 2021 CPE-MHN Top Multifamily Mortgage Banking Firms ranking utilized self-reported data for all firms. The ranking is a weighted formula based on a variety of factors, including total origination volume, coverage offered, growth in transaction volume and loan positioning, among others. The ranking represents what we feel is a logical balance between firm growth and market share, as well as sector diversity or specialization. Ranking factors are not limited to the data on this page.
—Madeline Harper, Senior Research Analyst, Yardi Matrix