March 28, 2024
Prime Rate
8.50%
5.19%
4.23%
3.85%

2017 Mid-Year Financing Update - Spotlight on Multifamily Lending

The first half of 2017 has seen tremendous lending activity from our correspondent life insurance companies, as several are ahead of plan for their 2017 loan allocations.  Essex has recently observed that life companies have been particularly competitive lending on multifamily properties, especially in the past few months.   The multifamily lending space is typically the domain of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, but recently, Essex has observed several life companies outperforming the two agencies, both in terms of loan proceeds and interest rate.  Two multifamily deals that Essex has worked on in the past two months have stood out in particular.  O...

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Are We Amidst A New Era of Construction Finance?

This article appeared in the September 21st issue of the Colorado Real Estate Journalwww.crej.comThe rumors and anecdotes you have heard about difficulties securing construction financing are true – banks are significantly curtailing their construction loan allocations and tightening their lending requirements, signaling a shift in how development deals might get financed going forward.  Banks are citing new regulations as reasons for this pullback, but these regulations have been in place for years.  Why the sudden change?  After speaking with several bankers, the answer appears to be a combination of two factors – a weariness of the high volume, low marg...

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Quarterly Financing Update - 2Q 2016

The first six months of 2016 have seen interest rates for commercial real estate dip to record lows, which has driven an uptick in refinance activity across all property types. Life insurance companies have been the primary source of capital for most investors, as CMBS issuance has yet to catch up to the pace set in 2015. Year-to-date CMBS issuance is currently less than 60% of 2015 levels. As a result, life insurance companies are close to reaching their 2016 funding targets, with many reporting that they have committed or closed more than 80% of their 2016 allocation. A similar trend has emerged in bank-issued construction financing. Several of Essex’s primary...

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Quarterly Financing Update - 1Q 2016

The first three months of 2016 have proven just how quickly the commercial real estate lending environment can change. Going into 2016, forecasts called for more than $125 billion in CMBS issuances in 2016. Today, those forecasts have been revised significantly downward to $60 billion, as regulatory changes, tightening credit standards, and widening spreads have dampened the appetite for CMBS loans.   On the other hand, life insurance companies continue to have a healthy appetite for commercial real estate debt and have increased their mortgage and equity allocations by 10 to 20 percent over last year. Spreads on A-Note general account loans are 75 to 100 b...

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Two new regulations’ potential impact on the CMBS market

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Building owners enjoy robust lending options

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Oil crash then vs. now: The diversification of Denver's economy

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Using the CME Group FedWatch tool to anticipate rate hikes

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What to expect from the life insurance companies in 2016

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What is debt yield and why is it important to commercial lenders?

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