CMBS Payoffs Stabilize as Maturity Wall Crumbles

S&P headquarters in Lower Manhattan

NEW YORK CITY—With the so-called “wall of maturities” for legacy CMBS gradually crumbling, the year-to-date payoff rate for 2017 has stabilized at around 70.5%, S&P Global Ratings said Wednesday. Shorter loan terms in recent vintages indicate a steady volume of maturities over the next several years, averaging about $40 billion annually, according to S&P.

The ratings agency’s most recent CMBS maturity tracker shows that September actually saw a lower starting payoff rate compared to the three preceding months. The lower rate was on account of a significantly larger percentage of loans—12.5%—securing maturity date extensions during the month. In comparison, June, July, and August saw extensions for 2.3%, 7.9% and 7.6% of the total monthly maturities, respectively.