Fannie Mae’s multi-family financing business boomed in 2014, with the company reporting that it provided $28.9 billion in financing to this market during the year.
This should come as no surprise to anyone who’s followed the fortunes of the U.S. multi-family market. Apartments are in demand, and multi-family developers are flocking to the hearts of cities such as Chicago, Minneapolis, Cincinnati and Lexington to add new rental units.
Fannie Mae reported that last year it worked with lender partners to finance 446,000 units of multi-family housing.
As usual, Fannie Mae’s Delegated Underwriting and Servicing risk-sharing program — better known as the DUS program — played a key role. Through the DUS program, Fannie Mae shares risk with its lenders. DUS lenders delivered nearly 100 percent of Fannie Mae’s 2014 multi-family loan acquisitions.
But which DUS lenders produced the highest volumes for Fannie in 2014? Again, the names shouldn’t surprise anyone; they’re the biggest names in commercial finance.
Walker & Dunlop ranked as the top DUS producer in 2014. Wells Fargo Multifamily Capital came in second, while Berkadia Commercial Mortgage ranked third. CBRE Multifamily Capital took the fourth spot, while PNC Real Estate came in at fifth.