MBA Economist Forecasts Slow Progress in Complex Macro Environment

The commercial real estate industry is bracing for a complex economic landscape in 2025, with industry leaders highlighting both challenges and opportunities at the recent MBA CREF 2025 conference in San Diego. The MBA Economic and Commercial Real Estate Market Outlook panel provided insights into the current state of the economy and the commercial and multifamily real estate finance markets, painting a picture of an industry at a crossroads.

One of the most significant challenges facing the industry is the looming maturity of $957 million in commercial real estate mortgages in 2025. This substantial figure, highlighted by Reggie Booker, Associate Vice President of Commercial and Multifamily Research at MBA, suggests a potential wave of refinancing activity on the horizon. Despite this challenge, there are positive signs in certain sectors, with multifamily originations showing a robust 27% increase compared to the previous year.