CRE Trend: Refinancing Hot in 2013

Between now and 2018, trillions of dollars in loans used to finance commercial real estate properties will mature and have to be refinanced. The big refinancing wave has already started to form. Sixty-four percent more commercial mortgages were originated in 2011, with a big increase expected for 2012 (the MBA origination index was up 25 percent in second-quarter 2012), according to consulting firm Deloitte Touche.

Life insurance companies, government agencies, and banks are refinancing their CRE loans, especially those on core properties. Retail properties reported the highest growth in new mortgage originations, up more than 55 percent in the second quarter of 2012.