Lending in the commercial real estate market increased 63 percent in the fourth quarter of 2010 from the prior quarter, The Wall Street Journal reported.

In 2010, $110 billion in commercial mortgages were originated for hotels, apartment buildings and retail and office properties. And though that’s far below the $508 billion in loans seen in all of 2007, the commercial real estate lending market has been thawing for the past six months as property prices rose in some areas.

Insurance companies, which in the fourth quarter originated more mortgages than at any time since 2005, are leading the charge, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Lending by banks, many of which are being weighed down with bad loans made at the market’s peak, has typically remained flat. But the number of loans sold to investors via commercial mortgage-backed securities, or CMBS, increased during the final months of 2010.