Feb 1, 2011 11:43 AM, By David Bodamer

CMBS delinquency rates reached new highs in December, confirming that a brief improvement in October was an aberration, according to the two firms that track the sector.

As of the end of December, the CMBS delinquency rate stood at 8.29 percent according to Horsham, Pa.-based Realpoint LLC and at 9.20 percent according to New York-city based Trepp LLC. Both firms’ data had shown that the delinquency rate had fallen in October. But it then rose in both November and December and has now eclipsed the previous high point set in September 2010.

At the heart of the jump in both firm's numbers was a marked increase in the delinquency rate on industrial properties. According to Realpoint, the industrial delinquency figure rose from 6.14 percent in November to 8.57 percent in December while Trepp said the figure jumped from 6.64 percent in November to 8.97 percent in December. The reason, according to Trepp, was that "two big loans" went delinquent during the month...