CRED iQ's CRE distress rate calculation took a jump in April to 8.35%, an all-time high in their measure. That was a month-over-month 74-basis point increase from 7.61% in March. And that one was a record.

The firm said that the "distress rate was significantly affected by one large loan which impacted the segment distress rate in a fairly dramatic fashion." A reasonable point, but still, it meant that things were already in a state in which there was enough of a base to make the new record possible.

Multifamily was the big driver, going from 3.7% in March to 7.2% in April on its own. That was due to "a $1.75 billion loan ($561,000/unit) backed by Parkmerced, a 3,221-unit multifamily property in San Francisco," they wrote. That was a 152-acre parcel with townhouse and tower apartments. In 2019, students were 17% of the occupants, suggesting that school closures during the pandemic could have had a cumulative effect. "Imminent non-monetary default caused the loan to transfer to the special servicer with the looming maturity date of December 2024. Furthermore, the assets have been underperforming with a below break-even DSCR of 0.47 and 83.5% occupancy."