CMBS Research & Analytics
VOL. 3 · FEB 2026
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CRED iQ's proprietary analytics platform tracks delinquency, special servicing, and broader distress across 100 major U.S. markets — by loan balance, property type, and CBSA. This month's data reveals widening divergence between coastal gateway cities and secondary Sunbelt markets.
Across the 100 largest CMBS markets tracked by CRED iQ in February 2026, aggregate distress rates continue to reflect a bifurcated landscape: office product remains the dominant source of stress, with an average distress rate of 21.2%, while industrial collateral holds near historic lows at 2.4%.
At the metropolitan level, concentration risk is acute. A handful of markets account for an outsized share of distressed exposure — led by secondary Midwest cities where office vacancy has outpaced absorption for over two years, and Puerto Rico markets where legacy loan structures remain unresolved.
"The divergence between top-distress and low-distress markets is now the widest we've recorded in the CRED iQ dataset — spanning from 100% in San Juan to under 1% in several Sun Belt logistics corridors."
Hotel distress at 12.3% reflects continued normalization challenges in convention-dependent markets, while retail — long the headline risk category — has moderated to 11.1% as weaker assets have already cycled through special servicing or resolved. Multifamily distress at 6.0% remains elevated relative to pre-2024 norms, driven by aggressive bridge loan vintages originated in 2021–2022.
Full rankings for all 100 markets — including property-type breakdowns, trend data, and the interactive chart explorer — are available to registered CRED iQ readers.