Office properties have typically collateralized about one-quarter of all commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) 2.0 loans, by balance, across both conduits and single-asset single borrower (SASB) deals from 2012 to 2019. The pandemic disrupted that trajectory, initially driving office exposure to one-third of all deals in 2020 when retail and lodging fell out of favor, then declining to low single-digit exposure in 2024 as remote working arrangements became more mainstream. The current year, however, began on a positive note for CMBS 2.0 office issuance, with Q1 2025 topping $10 billion, over 6x higher than Q1 2024. At 28.3% exposure, office is now matching more historical norms (see Figure 1).
SASB office securitizations have driven the recent resurgence in issuance, following a peak in total volume in 2021 and a sharp decline over the next two years, before bottoming out with just one deal in 2023. Activity picked up again in 2024 and gained momentum in Q1 2025. In contrast,…