WASHINGTON, DC-Commercial and multifamily mortgage originations were 29% higher in Q3 compared to the same period in 2012, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Quarterly Survey of Commercial/Multifamily Originations. Driving that increase was an uptick in health care property originations. There was a 124% boost in the dollar volume of loans for health care properties; a 69% increase for office properties, a 46% increase for hotel properties, a 30% increase for retail properties, an eight% increase for industrial properties, and a 3% increase for multifamily properties when compared to the third quarter of 2012.

Generally speaking, originations compared to the second quarter of 2013 were essentially flat, the survey also reported.

"Commercial and multifamily real estate borrowing and lending continued at a moderate clip in the third quarter," said Jamie Woodwell, MBA's Vice President of Commercial Real Estate Research. "Mortgage origination volumes were essentially flat from the second quarter, but were up 29% from last year's third quarter and are up 14% year-to-date."

In the quarter over quarter, health care loans dominated as well. Compared to the second quarter, third quarter 2013 originations for health care properties saw a 161% increase. There was a 25% increase for hotel properties, a 21% increase for office properties, a 16% increase for industrial properties, a 14% decrease for retail properties, and a 16% decrease for multifamily properties from second to third quarter 2013.

Also notable in this quarter's report: lending by life insurance companies remained near last quarter's record pace, while lending for the GSEs dropped by more than a third.

Among investor types, the dollar volume of loans originated for conduits for CMBS increased by 105% from last year's third quarter. There was a 72% increase for life insurance companies, a 41% increase for commercial bank portfolio loans, and a 40% decrease in dollar volume of loans originated for GSE loans.

Between the second and third quarters of 2013, loans for commercial bank portfolios saw an increase in dollar volume of 32%, loans for conduits for CMBS saw an increase in loan volume of 8%, originations for life insurance companies decreased 6% and loans for GSEs decreased by 37%.