Loans for Commercial Properties Jump 37%

Loans to buy and refinance commercial properties jumped 37% by dollar volume in the first quarter as real estate investment trusts were privatized and office buildings were sold or refinanced, a quarterly survey by the Mortgage Bankers Association said.

Commercial loan originations for office properties, the largest sector, climbed 62%. New loans rose 64% for health care properties, 37% for hotels, 26% for apartment buildings, 25% for retail properties and 14% for industrial properties, the survey said.