ORLANDO–Construction lending—a hit-or-miss proposition over the past several years—has rebounded to levels not seen in decades, said panelists here at the Mortgage Bankers Association's Commercial Real Estate Finance/Multifamily Housing Convention & Expo.

“I've been doing this for 25 years I haven't seen this much development since I first got into the business,” said Jay Marshall, senior managing director with HFF.

Kent Daiber, senior banker with Starwood Property Trust, agreed. “A year ago we had no construction loans on the books,” he said. “By the end of last year we had a little over $1 billion and by the end of this quarter we'll have another billion on the books.”