Walker and Dunlop has licensed the commercial serving platform from SS&C Technologies Holdings Inc. In addition to loan servicing, the platform will support asset management, insurance compliance, document management and investor reporting.

“SS&C invested significant time with our team to develop an in-depth understanding of our business and requirements,” said Jim Schroeder, senior vice president of loan servicing for Walker & Dunlop. “They delivered a comprehensive loan servicing solution with the flexibility to outsource select functions to optimize operational efficiency and scale.” Walker and Dunlop’s loan portfolio is $78 billion.

Walker and Dunlop was the seventh largest commercial mortgage servicer in the United States, with a servicing portfolio that totaled $77.9 billion, as of June 30. In 2017, Walker and Dunlop was the No. 1 Fannie Mae DUS Lender, number two GSE Lender, No. 3 Freddie Mac Multifamily Approved Seller-Servicer and No. 4 HUD Multifamily Lender.

The platform supports commercial-multifamily loan programs, from among others  Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Bridge and Life Company.

SS&C will provide cloud-based software and outsourcing services including Precision LM for loan servicing, and AWD, an enterprise business process management system, which combines automation, workforce optimization and digital transformation for insurance compliance and renewals.

Walker and Dunlop has specialized in providing customized financing solutions to owners and operators of commercial real estate properties across the United States since 1937.

“Our loan servicing software like Precision LM with expert outsourcing services and complementary technologies such as AWD, positions SS&C as a strategic partner for large, complex servicers like Walker and Dunlop,” said Rahul Kanwar, president and CEO of SS&C.

Strong market conditions helped fuel a 6 percent increase in multifamily lending in 2017, as lenders provided a record high $285 billion in new mortgages for apartment buildings with five or more units, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's annual report on the multifamily lending market.

"The multifamily lending market in 2017 benefited from improving fundamentals, rising property values and low interest rates," said Jamie Woodwell, vice president of commercial real estate research at the MBA. "The result was larger loan sizes and record levels of overall borrowing and lending. The market remains well served, with 2,554 lenders last year making loans backed by multifamily rental properties. Demand came from borrowers and lenders of all sizes, with loan amounts ranging from thousands of dollars to hundreds of millions."

The top five multifamily lenders in 2017 by dollar volume were Wells Fargo, CBRE Capital Markets, Inc., JP Morgan Chase and Company, Walker and Dunlop, and Berkadia. Fully 58 percent of the active lenders made five or fewer multifamily loans over the course of the year.

The $285 billion in multifamily mortgages originated in 2017 were funded by a variety of capital sources.  By dollar volume, the greatest share, 46 percent, went to the government sponsored enterprises, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Wells Fargo and Co. has closed a $700 million syndicated loan facility to The Howard Hughes Corporation a real estate developer of residential and commercial properties. “This new facility achieves our stated financial goals of both increasing our financial flexibility as well as reducing our weighted average cost of capital. By reducing our cost of funding, extending our maturity and adding a revolving component, this financing exemplifies our commitment to further improving our credit metrics,” said David O’Reilly, chief financial officer at Hughes.

The loan facility comprises a $615 million term loan and an $85 million revolver that will provide general working capital for Hughes. The loan facility is secured by a diverse collateral pool comprised of 26 retail, office and hotel properties located in Hughes’s acclaimed master planned communities of Ward Village, The Woodlands, and downtown Columbia.

• Ward Village is a 60-acre coastal master planned community in the heart of Honolulu. Upon completion it will introduce around one-million square feet of retail experiences, and it is home to 90 unique stores and 40 restaurants.
• The Woodlands is a 28,000-acre award-winning master planned community, located 27 miles north of downtown Houston. Highlights include 1725 and 1735 Hughes Landing, two Class A office towers with a structured parking garage, located within the 66-acre, mixed-use Hughes Landing development, one of Houston’s premier mixed-use urban centers.
• Downtown Columbia is located at the center of Columbia, Md., one of the first master planned communities in the U.S., founded by legendary developer James W. Rouse in 1967. At full buildout, the redevelopment of downtown Columbia will feature more than 14 million square feet of office, hotel, retail, as well as residential, cultural, and public space. Highlights include Columbia Corporate Center and One Merriweather, nine Class A and Class B office buildings.

“This financing achieves several objectives, including converting bridge and construction loans to a five-year term loan facility that provides operating flexibility and enhanced liquidity for The Howard Hughes Corporation,” said Bill Vernon, head of real estate banking in the commercial group of Wells Fargo.