More than 2,000 multifamily lenders financed five-unit apartment buildings to the tune of $68.8 billion over the course of 2010, according to a Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) report released Wednesday.

The MBA pooled data from the MBA 2010 Commercial Multifamily Annual Origination Volume Rankings, which it said covered $119 billion in commercial and multifamily loans over the course of last year.

Summaries helped cover the multifamily market, listed 2,548 multifamily lenders by lending volume and loan size, and profiled metropolitan areas in which these lenders supplied loans.

The trade group found a 31-percent increase in total dollar volume for the multifamily lending industry, up from data seen in 2009.

One percent of the lenders pooled their financial strength for 51 percent of multifamily loans, with 75 percent or so of all lenders yielded five loans or less over 2010.

Wells Fargo, CBRE Capital Markets, Berkadia Commercial Mortgage, PNC Real Estate, and Prudential Mortgage Capital topped a list of multifamily lenders by total dollar volume last year.

“The multifamily lending market grew 31 percent in 2010, with credit extended by a broad range of lenders to a broad range of properties,” Jamie Woodwell, MBA’s VP commercial real estate research, said in a statement.

The figures coincide with data revealed by the Commerce Department this week that housing starts went up by 15 percent over September, beating worse-for-the-wear forecasts largely on the strength of five-unit multifamily construction.

Multiple news outlets cast the news about multifamily starts and lending volume as evidence that more Americans prefer to lease their homes in lieu of wobbly financial markets and others.