Essex Financial Group, which will close an estimated $750 million in commercial real estate loans this year, is changing the guard. J. Jeffrey Riggs, who founded the firm 26 years ago, is passing the baton to Cooper Williams, who has spent his entire professional career at Essex.“We are proud to announce that Cooper Williams, effective Nov. 1, is going to be the president of Essex Financial Group,” Riggs said from the company’s headquarters on the seventh floor of 1401 17th St. in downtown Denver earlier this week.Riggs, however, is not leaving or retiring from the company he founded, which originally was called Western Mortgage.“I’m a long way from retiring,” t...

Essex Financial Group, which will close an estimated $750 million in commercial real estate loans this year, is changing the guard. J. Jeffrey Riggs, who founded the firm 26 years ago, is passing the baton to Cooper Williams, who has spent his entire professional career at Essex.“We are proud to announce that Cooper Williams, effective Nov. 1, is going to be the president of Essex Financial Group,” Riggs said from the company’s headquarters on the seventh floor of 1401 17th St. in downtown Denver earlier this week.Riggs, however, is not leaving or retiring from the company he founded, which originally was called Western Mortgage.“I’m a long way from retiring,” t...

Essex Financial Group is the #1 originator of life insurance company debt in Colorado.  Below is a sampling of recent life insurance company loans that were originated and closed by Cooper Williams in June 2018. Arvada HGI - $16,800,000The Arvada Hilton Garden Inn (Arvada HGI) is a newly-constructed, 139-room limited-service hotel located in Arvada, CO.  Arvada HGI opened in March 2017 and has seen tremendous success, catering to both business travelers and tourists.  The limited-service hotel is located only a few blocks from Old Town Arvada and the Arvada Gold Line, which will provide light rail service to downtown Denver by 2018.   Esse...

Life insurance companies continue to show a strong appetite for commercial mortgages as a piece of their investment allocation. In 2017, life insurance companies originated over $61 billion of commercial mortgage debt, and feedback from our correspondent life insurance company lenders indicates that this appetite will continue through 2018. However, there is a trend toward more conservative, lower-risk loans as we move into the latter stages of the current economic cycle. For life insurance companies, that means two things: first, a focus on low-leverage transactions (sub-65 percent loan to value); and second, an increase in their asset allocations toward multifamily propertie...

Essex Financial Group – Real Estate Analyst Job Description  Company Description:Essex Financial Group ("Essex") is the largest independently-owned commercial mortgage banking firm in Colorado.  Essex specializes in commercial real estate debt and equity placement.  For over 30 years, Essex has helped its clients navigate the capital markets efficiently to identify the best capital source and structure to meet their financing needs and objectives.As a loan correspondent for 25 life insurance companies, including several on an exclusive basis, Essex is able to access non-recourse, low-interest rate capital that nobody else can provide.  While founded a...

The start of a new year provides us with a chance to reflect on the past twelve months and identify a few key insights into the capital markets that our Borrowers can hopefully take advantage of heading into 2018.  Perhaps the most dramatic change in the debt markets in 2017 was the flattening of the yield curve, brought on by the Federal Reserve’s decision to raise its target for the short term federal funds interest rate on three separate occasions in March, June, and December. The federal funds rate is the interest rate that banks charge each other for overnight loans, and as a result, has a more direct impact on short-term interest rates. The chart above shows...

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...

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...

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...

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...