Commercial Mortgages Return 9.90% in 2011

BOSTON, April 11, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Commercial mortgage investments held by life insurance companies ended 2011 up 9.90% for the year, according to the LifeComps Commercial Mortgage Index.  Fourth quarter's total return of 2.34% followed gains of 2.70% in third quarter, 2.79% in second quarter, and 1.72% in first quarter.                                

In the fourth quarter, income contributed 1.42% and price contributed 0.92%.  Lower treasury yields and tighter mortgage spreads contributed positively to fourth quarter performance.

For the twelve-month period, income contributed 5.97% and price added 3.92%, with annual performance benefitting substantially from declining treasury yields and, to a lesser extent, spread movement and credit migration.  

Of the four major property types, apartments performed best over twelve months with a total return of 10.29% compared to 10.16% for retail, 9.53% for industrial and 9.16% for office.

About LifeComps

The LifeComps Commercial Mortgage Loan Index is the only published benchmark for the private commercial mortgage market based on actual mortgage loan cash flow and performance data, which has been collected quarterly from participating life insurance companies since 1996.  Active loans in the LifeComps Index number 5,000 with an aggregate principal balance of $90.1 billion and market value of $96.6 billion.  The weighted average duration is 4.2 years, and average reported loan-to-value is 59 percent.

Since its inception, the LifeComps database has tracked individual cash flows on more than 18,000 loans with principal balances totaling in excess of $221 billion.  More than 3,800 loans totaling $54 billion have been tracked from origination to disposition. 

Participating life insurers include Allstate Life Insurance Company, CIGNA Investment Management, AXA Equitable, John Hancock, Northwestern Mutual, Principal Financial,  Prudential Insurance Company of America, and TIAA.  For more information, visit www.lifecomps.com.

SOURCE LifeComps Commercial Mortgage Index