KBRA releases the May 2026 issue of CMBS Trend Watch.

Private label commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) continued its steady issuance pace in May, with 16 deals closing, compared to 17 in April. As in past months, single-borrower (SB) deals continue to dominate, while conduit originations remain challenged by higher rates and lender competition. Of the 16 deals, 12 were SB and four conduits, bringing the year-to-date (YTD) issuance to $56.7 billion for a 9.7% increase on a year-over-year (YoY) basis. Commercial real estate (CRE) collateralized loan obligation (CLO) issuance in May consisted of three deals totaling $3.6 billion, resulting in a YTD total of $21.6 billion, representing a YoY increase of 32.2%.

The forward issuance pipeline across both CMBS and CRE CLOs remains busy as the market heads into its midyear CREFC conference in New York City next week. Based on our current visibility, as many as 21 rated CRE securitizations could be announced in June, including 12 SB, four conduits, four CRE CLOs, and one Freddie Mac K-Series (Agency).

In May, KBRA published pre-sales for six deals ($5 billion), including three conduits ($2 billion), one SB ($1.3 billion), one CRE CLO ($1.2 billion), and one small balance commercial (SC) ($414.5 million). May’s surveillance activity included rating reviews of 693 securities. Of the 693 ratings, 622 were affirmed (89.8%), 59 were downgraded (8.5%), and 12 were upgraded (1.7%).

This month's edition also highlights recent KBRA research publications that cover various topical issues.

Click here to view the report.

Recent Publications

• CMBS Trend Watch: April 2026
• CMBS Loan Performance Trends: May 2026
• KBRA Global Rating Stability and Transition Study: 2011-2025
• Metro-Level CRE Loan Distress: Bifurcated Performance
• Institutional SFR Ownership Limits Could Slow Sector Growth
• Anatomy of Loss in Single-Borrower CMBS: A Loan-Level Analysis
• Data Center Leases: Variations on Established Themes
• Evolving Data Center Landscape: Insights & Implementation Breakfast—KBRA Event Recap

About KBRA

KBRA, one of the major credit rating agencies, is registered in the U.S., EU, and the UK. KBRA is recognized as a Qualified Rating Agency in Taiwan, and is also a Designated Rating Organization for structured finance ratings in Canada. As a full-service credit rating agency, investors can use KBRA ratings for regulatory capital purposes in multiple jurisdictions.

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