Mixing Performance Measures of Commercial and Multi-family delinquency rates gives a misleading description of Commercial Property Loan Performance. The Mortgage Bankers Association noted in its latest Commercial/Multifamily Research DataNote that construction loans for multifamily projects in the United States are incorrectly included in commercial real estate delinquency reports, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's most recent

The report says that the commercial/multifamily mortgages have continued to perform well and well within expectations opposite to the performances of mortgages and loans supported by the single-family residential housing market.

According to the report, combining commercial real estate loans with construction projects destined for family dwellings greatly inflates the delinquency rates reported for commercial and multifamily real estate loans.

"Once construction and development loans are excluded, commercial and multifamily mortgages have delinquency levels that are close to historic lows," MBA says.

But the FDIC's Quarterly Banking Profile (QBP) report, which releases data on the performance of loans at FDIC-insured banks, combines commercial and multifamily mortgages with construction loans in one category and the delinquency rate. This, the MBA report noted, makes the commercial and multifamily mortgage markets appear weaker than they are