CMBS Distress Rate Rises to 11.86% in May, Office at 17.11%
The CMBS distress rate climbed to 11.86 percent in May 2026, up 78 basis points from April, with special servicing at 11.25 percent and delinquency at 9.53 percent. The increase erased April's brief improvement, with office distress leading at 17.11 percent and multifamily at 10.95 percent.
The commercial mortgage-backed securities distress rate climbed to 11.86 percent in May 2026, up 78 basis points from 11.08 percent in April, according to CRED iQ. The increase erased April's brief improvement and reflects rising stress across both the conduit and single-asset, single-borrower universe. Special servicing rose to 11.25 percent, a 64-basis-point month-over-month increase, while delinquency reached 9.53 percent, up 58 basis points.
Mike Haas, founder and CEO of CRED iQ, reported the distress rate has more than doubled since mid-2022 when it sat near 5 percent, underscoring that resolution activity is not yet keeping pace with new transfers into distress. The 170-basis-point spread between special servicing and delinquency in May signals a meaningful share of distressed balance is being actively worked out by servicers before becoming payment-delinquent.
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