Trepp reported that the delinquency rate for multifamily commercial mortgage-backed securities rose 35 basis points in September, the largest increase among the property types the firm tracks. The overall CMBS delinquency rate also moved higher, climbing 17 basis points during the month. The multifamily result matters because it pushed the multifamily delinquency rate above the overall CMBS delinquency rate for the first time since the Covid shutdowns disrupted real estate markets, signaling renewed stress in a sector that had previously been a relative source of stability within commercial mortgage portfolios.
The mechanics of Trepp's delinquency measure focus on loans that are 30 or more days delinquent, with results broken out by property type. The delinquency rate for loans on multifamily property reached 8.04 percent in September, higher than the overall CMBS delinquency rate of 8.02 percent. One year earlier, the multifamily CMBS delinquency rate was 145 basis points lower at 6.59 percent, and two years earlier it was 471 basis points lower at 3.33 percent. Both the one-year and two-year increases for multifamily property loans were the largest delinquency rate increases among the property types tracked by Trepp. The overall CMBS delinquency rate was up 79 basis points from one year ago and up 232 basis points from two years ago.
The source, Yield PRO, reported the Trepp figures in a single full-text article published on October 4, 2026. The report also noted that loans past their maturity date but still current on interest payments are not counted as delinquent. If those loans were included, the overall CMBS delinquency rate would be 9.66 percent, down 15 basis points for the month but up 18 basis points from one year earlier. Loans past maturity but still current on interest represented 1.64 percent of loans outstanding. Among other property types, lodging CMBS delinquencies rose 34 basis points to 6.18 percent, office rose 16 basis points to 12.16 percent, industrial was unchanged at 1.14 percent, and retail fell 62 basis points to 6.58 percent. On a year-over-year basis, office delinquencies rose 103 basis points, industrial rose 58 basis points, lodging rose 37 basis points, and retail fell 18 basis points.
The sector implications are concentrated in multifamily and office. Multifamily's 8.04 percent delinquency rate now exceeds the overall CMBS rate, a reversal from the period when multifamily was a lower-delinquency segment. The office rate of 12.16 percent remains the highest among tracked property types and continues to rise, while retail was the only property type to post a monthly decline. The fact that multifamily recorded the largest one-year and two-year delinquency increases suggests that financing stress is broadening beyond office properties, which have been the most visible source of CMBS distress. The lodging increase of 34 basis points in a single month also indicates that hospitality loans are not immune to the current pressure.
The evidence base is limited to one secondary source summarizing Trepp's delinquency report, so the analysis cannot assess loan-level causes, geographic concentration, vintage effects, or the role of floating-rate debt in driving multifamily delinquencies. The dossier does not provide data on special servicing transfers, loss severities, or borrower modification activity. What to watch next is whether the multifamily delinquency rate continues to rise in subsequent Trepp reports, whether loans past maturity but still current begin to migrate into delinquency, and whether the retail improvement is sustained or reverses in coming months.