- By Jared Wiedmeyer
- August 22, 2017
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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- By Jared Wiedmeyer
- October 04, 2016
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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- By Jared Wiedmeyer
- August 04, 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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- By Jared Wiedmeyer
- April 11, 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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