Significant improvement in the performance of hotel loans largely is responsible for the decline in the delinquency of commercial mortgage-backed securities in February, according to the U.S. CMBS Delinquency Report released March 4 by real estate analytics firm Trepp.

The percentage of CMBS loans 30 days or more delinquent or in foreclosure was at 9.42 percent in February — down from 9.57 the month before and down from 9.71 in December. Still, CMBS delinquency remained higher than it was in February 2012 when the 30-day past-due rate was 9.37 percent.

The report found that the lodging delinquency rate improved the most, dropping 169 basis points to 10.08 percent in February, making the property type the most-improved but only the second best performer.

The distinction of best-performing property type went to the retail sector where the delinquency rate remained unchanged month-to-month at a relatively low 7.79 percent. 

The multifamily delinquency rate also saw a significant drop of 16 basis points, but it remained the worst performing major property type with a delinquency rate of 13.27 percent.

The industrial delinquency rate jumped 47 basis points to 11.79 percent in February, making it the second-worst performing major property type.

Read the U.S. CMBS Delinquency Report.