Contrary to popular belief, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) says financing for new commercial and multifamily mortgages is on the rise.

According to a quarterly survey released by MBA Tuesday at its Commercial Real Estate Finance convention in Las Vegas, commercial and multifamily mortgage loan originations were 12 percent higher in the fourth quarter of 2009 than during the same period last year, and 15 percent higher than the third quarter of 2009.

“Commercial and multifamily mortgage originations picked up in the fourth quarter, but remain at a low level in absolute terms,” explained Jamie Woodwell, VP of commercial real estate research at MBA. “The trend shows

stability coming back to the market, but the pick-up in volumes really indicates just how low origination levels had fallen.”

According to Woodwell, originations had been pushed downward by lackluster demand, as well as by the recession and overall credit crunch – a drop off that became notably evident at the end of 2008 and the beginning of 2009.

But now that stability is returning, Woodwell told reporters at the convention, “There’s good appetite out there for the right deals.”

The 12 percent annual increase in commercial lending activity during the fourth quarter was driven by increases in originations for all property types except multifamily, according to MBA’s study.

When compared to the fourth quarter of 2008, the increase included a 105 percent jump in loans for hotel properties, a 101 percent increase for retail properties, and a 59 percent gain for industrial properties. Loans for office properties rose 4 percent, while health care property loans increased 1 percent. Originations of multifamily real estate loans, on the other hand, dropped 8 percent.

MBA also announced this week in Las Vegas that it is forming four new councils to address specific aspects of commercial real estate, in particular, investors, origination, multifamily, and servicing.