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Matt Rocco of Grandbridge Real Estate Capital
FeaturesFinance InsightMidwestNortheastSoutheastTexasWestern

Competition Will Continue for Top Quality Commercial Real Estate in 2019

by Jaime Lackey

Matt Rocco, president of Grandbridge Real Estate Capital, realizes this year may not maintain the exact same lending velocity as last year. However, he sees plenty of opportunities in workforce and affordable housing, as well as in industrial real estate. This, combined with plenty of capital, may keep competition fierce for strong commercial assets in the foreseeable future. Many believe lending velocity may slow this year compared to 2018. What is your take on this? Rocco: We expect transactional velocity will be flat or down slightly as compared to 2018. This year and 2020 only have modest maturity activity. As a result, many new refinancing assignments will come from floating-rate loans that are converting into fixed-rate loan terms.  Given the very flat yield curve, we anticipate many clients will move from these floating-rate loans to match their ownership objectives. They will likely seek fixed-rate loan terms at the same coupon rate as their floating-rate alternatives. We also expect lending volume from CMBS, agency and life insurance companies to be flat or slightly down in 2019 compared to the record year in 2018. Are there any specific product types that seem particularly attractive in 2019? Rocco: We expect to see robust …

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Mark Gould M&T
FeaturesFinance InsightMidwestMultifamilyNortheastSeniors HousingSoutheastTexasWestern

Experience Pays Off for Reputable Seniors Housing Operators

by Jaime Lackey

Mark Gould, national production manager of M&T Realty Capital Corporation, believes the seniors housing continuum of care may hold vast opportunities for those with the know-how and discipline to weather any short-term storms. Where do lending opportunities – and challenges – lie in 2019? Gould: We have been active in the seniors housing sector for a very long time. We see this asset class continuing to grow in 2019 as the U.S. aging population will drive growth.  Challenges will lie with inexperienced parties trying to capitalize on the favorable demographic trends who do not fully understand the complexity of operating in the healthcare space. Wage pressures and nurse staffing shortages will further heighten the operating challenges in this space. I also think dollar volumes will stay steady. Rising rates have placed some DSC [debt service coverage] limitations and have required more equity into deals. There didn’t seem to be as many large portfolio deals in fiscal year 2018, which we believe resulted in a heightened number of transactions. This is an indication of a healthy market. Does the seniors housing market have room to grow beyond its 2018 activity?  Gould: We are seeing some very innovative solutions from our customers that …

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Hilary Provinse of Berkadia
FeaturesFinance InsightMidwestMultifamilyNortheastSoutheastTexasWestern

Multifamily Sentiment Remains Strong For The Foreseeable Future

by Jaime Lackey

Hilary Provinse, executive vice president and head of mortgage banking at Berkadia, highlights the trends, strategies and activity attendees should have on their radar ahead of MBA CREF 2019 in February. Coming off a strong and surprisingly consistent year in 2018, we’re feeling good about 2019. The year is off to an interesting start to say the least, and we’re keeping our eye on several factors. These include Treasury rates, the regulatory environment, tariffs and development costs that will impact our business. Even keeping these in mind, however, there are positive factors that point to the potential for continued economic strength and activity in the multifamily market. Fundamentals of the Economy Remain Very Strong Unemployment continues to fall, and jobless claims remain extraordinarily low. Despite the recent decrease in consumer confidence — volatile in its own right — it remains near the highest levels since 9/11. GDP growth also remains strong with consumption, investment and government outlays all supportive.  Multifamily Demand-Supply Dynamics Remain Solid The percent of population living in multifamily units has experienced a slow, but consistent, increase since the 2008 financial crisis. Loan maturities are expected to increase in 2019 versus 2018 across several sources. Maturities are inevitable events that …

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Content PartnerFeaturesLumentRED Capital GroupWestern

RED Capital Group: The Northwest Enters 2019 with Strong Momentum, Rising Risks

by Jeff Shaw

For decades, the Pacific Coast has defined the American avant garde. From the Beats and Hippies of the Fifties and Sixties to today’s coders, gamers, software engineers and social network titans, the West Coast has set the standard for contemporary cutting edge social and life-style evolution. Lately, the region has emerged as a global economic leader as well. The rise of Big Tech operations in the five Pacific Northwest metro areas we cover — the East Bay, Portland, San Francisco, San Jose and Seattle (the “Pacific 5”) — has altered their economic landscapes profoundly. From 2014 to 2017, nominal metropolitan GDP per capita increased more than three times faster than the national average, and personal income per capita — already considerably higher than the U.S. mean — increased at an 80 percent faster rate than the metropolitan norm. Wealth creation and income growth on this scale fueled commensurate demand for rental housing space, especially the luxury infill product favored by investors and developers. Total Pacific 5-occupied apartment stock increased at a 2.4 percent annual rate over the three years ended in 3Q18 (Reis) — 20 percent faster than the balance of the RED 50, RED Capital Research’s large market peer …

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Weidell-NorthMarq-quote-2019-Multifamily-Trends
FeaturesFinance InsightLoansMidwestMultifamilyNortheastSoutheastTexasWestern

Top 5 Multifamily Investment, Financing Trends to Watch in 2019

by Jaime Lackey

We’re already well into the first quarter of 2019 and with that comes the many industry events, including NMHC’s Apartment Strategies Conference and MBA’s CREF 2019. Before the year — and conference season — gets fully underway, we want to share our perspective on the top financing and investing trends that may impact your multifamily investment opportunities in the coming months. 1. New Construction Generates Sales, Financing Opportunities Multifamily development has been robust in recent years, reaching a peak in 2018. About 280,000 apartment units were delivered in 2018, and more than 1.1 million units have been delivered during the past five years. Only about 25 percent of these units have sold at this point. Developers are expected to either place permanent financing on projects or implement exit strategies by increasingly bringing stabilized projects to market. 2. Value-Add Remains Popular, Profitable Investors looking to steer clear of some of the aggressive pricing for new properties will continue to target value-add opportunities. Value-add strategies that can be executed in short time frames of about 18 months will appeal to investors and lenders as vacancies tighten and rents rise in nearly every major market in the country. 3. Interest Rates May Plateau …

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FeaturesFinance InsightLoansMidwestMultifamilyNortheastSoutheastTexasWestern

Putting The Green In Green Financing

by Jaime Lackey

Green bonds have been around since 2007, but they only really started to gain traction in 2014 when about $37 billion worth of bonds were issued in the U.S. That number jumped to $45.4 billion last year, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF). These financing vehicles, which tout environmental and social good, can be big business. Fannie Mae accounted for much of these green mortgage-backed securities (Green MBS) with $19.8 billion contributed in 2018. These loans center on assets that have achieved green certification or those that can reduce their energy and water consumption. “Multifamily had another outstanding year in 2018, thanks to our lenders,” says Rob Levin, senior vice president for multifamily customer engagement at Fannie Mae. “Together, we supported all market segments, bringing liquidity to the market while building a balanced portfolio that reflects our strategy with strong credit quality and mission-rich business.” Getting With The Program Lenders are taking advantage of the government-sponsored entities’ (GSEs) sustainability programs at an accelerated pace. Walker & Dunlop structured $392.3 million in green financing for three multifamily properties in Southern California in June 2018. Class A communities the Medici and the Orsini I in downtown Los Angeles were financed through …

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Harrop-Bellwether-2019
FeaturesFinance InsightMidwestNortheastSoutheastTexasWestern

Deploying Capital in 2019

by Jaime Lackey

Todd Harrop, executive vice president and national director of capital markets at Bellwether Enterprise in Columbus, Ohio, believes 2019 will be another opportunistic year for lenders and intermediaries. REBusinessOnline discussed with Harrop the abundance of capital in this market – and how discipline and changes in capital providers’ programs have put these funds to work. What is the biggest challenge you anticipate in 2019 as an intermediary in commercial real estate? Much like 2018, we continue to be optimistic about the commercial real estate finance market in 2019. In 2018, we were challenged with a variety of market disruptors including rising interest rates, market volatility, geopolitical risks, and signs of an overall slowing global economy. In 2019, we expect these disruptors to continue. Furthermore, the debt space remains very crowded as capital flows continue to rise and opportunities have declined due to fewer refinance opportunities. The good news is capital is far from complacent and underwriting remains very disciplined, which should enable the markets to continue to function well. Where do you see the biggest opportunity for your company in 2019? In general, I believe there is an increased opportunity for mortgage bankers/intermediaries in 2019. This is due to the fact …

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Woodwell-MBA
FeaturesFinance InsightLoansMidwestNortheastSoutheastTexasWestern

Commercial Real Estate Lending Had a Banner Year in 2018

by Jaime Lackey

Records were meant to be broken. That’s a phrase commercial lenders have become fairly familiar with over the past few years. Multifamily lending, in particular, has enjoyed a good run. In the fourth quarter of 2018, the Mortgage Bankers Association released the MBA Annual Report on Multifamily Lending. According to the report, strong market conditions helped fuel a 6 percent increase in multifamily lending in 2017. Lenders provided a record high of $285 billion in new mortgages for apartment buildings with five or more units. Jamie Woodwell, vice president of commercial real estate research for MBA, cited a few reasons for this uptick in activity. “The multifamily lending market in 2017 benefited from improving fundamentals, rising property values and low interest rates,” he says. “The result was larger loan sizes and record levels of overall borrowing and lending…Demand came from borrowers and lenders of all sizes, with loan amounts ranging from thousands of dollars to hundreds of millions.” This breakneck pace continued last year as low unemployment, job growth and overall economic strength gave investors and lenders confidence in the market. Freddie Mac had its best year ever in terms of multifamily production in 2018. The government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) closed …

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brandon-chesnutt-identity
Conference CoverageFeaturesMidwestNortheastSoutheastTexasWestern

How to Reach the Right Retail Audience

by Jaime Lackey

It’s no secret that pop-up and experiential retail are hot topics. But it can be hard to figure out how best to engage audiences with an individual activation before, during and after the event. To help marketers solve this conundrum, Brandon Chesnutt, vice president and director of digital & development at Identity, hosted a session titled “Six Winning Pop-Up Retail Marketing Ideas Property Managers Can’t Ignore” during the 2019 Ancillary Retail Expo, a two-day conference produced by InterFace Conference Group and Ancillary Retail magazine. At issue during the session, which took place in mid-January at the Hilton Daytona Beach hotel, were a host of key topics for retailers looking to decide which pop-up retail marketing strategies generate the most attention, excitement and foot traffic. Chesnutt introduced the property owners and managers in attendance to tactics and campaign ideas that have the attention of retail marketers, including targeted social media advertising and tailored group activations. The Detroit native acknowledged that it’s an exciting time for marketers of all stripes, but said that excitement and energy comes with a host of questions about best practices in a rapidly changing industry. “The expectations of what is considered marketing are shifting,” said Chesnutt. “If …

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FeaturesRetail

Robust Holiday Retail Sales Bring Glad Tidings to U.S. Shopping Center Industry

by Alex Tostado

As 2018 wound to an end, the national unemployment rate hovered just under 4 percent, consumer confidence hit an 18-year high and wage growth reached a nine-year high. Those positive economic signs helped set the table for a robust holiday shopping season, according to Cushman & Wakefield’s fourth-quarter snapshot of the U.S. shopping center market. These three factors led to consumers spending more during the holiday season than in the previous six years. According to MasterCard Spending Pulse, U.S. consumers spent $850 billion during the 2018 holiday season, up 5.1 percent over the prior year. Online holiday sales from Nov. 1 through Dec. 19, 2018 totaled $110.6 billion, a 17.8 percent increase year-over-year, reports Adobe Analytics. According to Cushman & Wakefield, the convenience factor known as “buy online, pick-up in store” was more widely adopted this holiday season, growing at a year-over-year rate of 47 percent. The report also found that the performance of non-mall shopping centers trended upward in the fourth quarter in the 66 markets Cushman & Wakefield tracks across the country. The vacancy rate for such properties finished at 6.3 percent, compared with 6.7 percent at the end of 2017. The average asking rent per square foot …

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