Commercial real estate delinquencies down slightly

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A smidgen of good news about the troubled commercial real estate industry came last week from the California Mortgage Bankers Assn.

Delinquencies on loans for commercial properties were down slightly in the first quarter compared to the fourth quarter of last year.

Loans are considered delinquent if they are two or more payments past due. Of all the outstanding loans in the state, .12% were delinquent, compared to .15% in the last three months of 2008. The delinquency rate was still higher than it was a year ago, however, when a mere .02% of loans were delinquent in the first quarter. Still, only seven loans, totaling $63.4 million, were delinquent in California in the first three months of 2009. The largest delinquent loan is a $24.5-million loan on a multi-family development in Riverside County.

‘Despite broader economic indicators showing far more dire results, the loan delinquency rate is remaining at a respectable level,’ said Tup Fisher, president of the association. ‘We will most likely see further increases in delinquencies, but the fundamentals remain so far strong.’

-- Roger Vincent