RSK: Banks are lending again on commercial real estate....good news.

After nearly a year of stagnation, commercial real estate lending at U.S. commercial banks is showing renewed signs of growth. Total CRE loans on bank balance sheets reached $3.07 trillion in February 2026, according to Federal Reserve data, marking a 2.1% increase from a year earlier. That may sound modest, but it represents a meaningful shift from the near-zero growth rates that defined much of 2024 and early 2025.

To understand the current moment, it helps to look at the trajectory. CRE lending surged in 2022, with year-over-year growth peaking above 13% in late 2022 as banks aggressively expanded their real estate portfolios during a period of strong demand and rising property values. That pace slowed sharply through 2023 as higher interest rates, tighter underwriting standards, and concerns about office and retail valuations cooled lender appetite. By early 2025, annual growth had essentially flatlined, hovering between 0.2% and 0.9% for months. Total outstanding CRE loans barely moved from the $3 trillion mark they first crossed in mid-2024...