"Lower interest rates were a key driver of the increase," he noted. In the third quarter, 10-year Treasury yields, which influence borrowing rates, fell from a 4.31% average in June to 3.72% in September. 

Upward movement in Treasurys in October and November, though, appear likely to halt recent momentum. On the morning of Nov. 8, yields on the 10-year sat at 4.3%, near its June average.

Elevated interest rates was one of the factors that led to subdued multifamily volume in 2023 and early 2024, Freddie Mac said earlier this year in a report. Still, overall economic and demographic trends make multifamily a long-term favorable asset class, the government-sponsored enterprise also said. 

While the multifamily space saw a healthy pace of growth last quarter, it lagged behind other sectors, according to MBA's data. Between second and third quarters, originations in health care properties jumped by 191% and for retail, 56%. Office real estate, which has been negatively impacted since the pandemic with the adoption of hybrid and remote-work models, got a boost with a 42% increase in loans. 

Meanwhile, industrial property originations increased 21% in dollar volume. The lone sector seeing a quarterly drop in volume was the hotel sector, where originations fell 25%.   

Compared to the same quarter a year ago, lending for health care-related real estate accelerated by a whopping 510%. At the same time, originations for hotel, retail and industrial properties also saw significant increases of 99%, 82% and 57%, respectively. Office originations contracted by 3%. 

"Each property and loan is unique and faces a different situation depending on its property type, market, submarket, vintage, business plan and more," Woodwell said. "All those factors will play a role in the volume of borrowing/lending in coming quarters."

Among investor types, the dollar volume of originations increased across the board when compared to both the previous quarter and year. Originations by government-sponsored  enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, who deal exclusively in multifamily lending within commercial real estate, expanded by 55% between second and third quarters. They were outpaced by loans for depositories, which grew 86%. 

Meanwhile, origination volumes for life insurance companies and investor-driven lenders increased by 40% and 21%, respectively. Loans backed by commercial mortgage-backed securities saw 12% growth on a quarterly basis.

Year over year, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac originations increased 28% but lagged all other investor categories. Originations backed by CMBS saw dollar volume leap 260% from the third quarter of 2023. Depository loans followed at 69%. 

Meanwhile, investor-driven lender loans grew 62%, while dollar volumes at life insurance firms saw a 31% increase.