Barron's/John B. Levy & Co. National Mortgage Survey

THE DOLLAR VOLUME OF MORTGAGES on commercial real estate hit the public marketplace at a record level in March, according to the Barron's/John B. Levy & Co. National Mortgage Survey. The market for commercial-mortgage-backed securities absorbed some $29 billion, compared with the previous record of a shade under $23 billion set in January 2005. But don't look for this party to continue; the next few months will show modest volume in CMBS, largely because of a downtrend in sales of income property, most of which trigger fresh financing.