Fitch: U.S. CMBS Delinquencies Finish 2013 Below 6%

U.S. CMBS delinquencies closed out 2013 below 6% following nine straight months of declines, according to the latest index results from Fitch Ratings.

CMBS delinquencies declined 12 basis points (bps) in December to 5.98% from 6.10% a month earlier. Late-pays now stand at three percentage points below their July 2011 peak of 9%. Multifamily and hotels saw the largest improvements last year followed by office and retail, while industrial remained roughly flat.

In December, resolutions of $1.1 billion outpaced additions to the index of $717 million. Aiding in the CMBS delinquency rate decline was an active December for new CMBS issuance, with a post-recession high of 11 Fitch-rated deals totaling $9.3 billion coming to market.

Multifamily was the standout performer in 2013, with delinquencies falling by 3.6 percentage points on the year. Hotels also experienced strong gains in 2013, with delinquencies falling 2.4 percentage points. Office and retail delinquencies fell by about 1.5 percentage points each last year, while industrial delinquencies were largely unchanged year over year.

Current and previous delinquency rates are as follows:

-- Industrial: 8.45% (from 8.50% in November and 8.61% at year-end 2012);

-- Office: 6.89% (from 6.77% and 8.41%, respectively);

-- Hotel: 6.50% (from 6.96% and 8.87%);

-- Multifamily: 6.48% (from 7.01% and 10.12%);

-- Retail: 5.63% (from 5.78% and 7.14%).

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