WASHINGTON, D.C. — The total amount of commercial and multifamily mortgages originated in the fourth quarter of 2021 were up 79 percent compared to a year prior, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) Quarterly Survey of Commercial/Multifamily Mortgage Bankers Originations. “The fourth quarter of 2021 was a record end to a record year of borrowing and lending backed by commercial and multifamily properties,” says Jamie Woodwell, MBA’s vice president of commercial real estate research. “Part of the growth from 2020 was a bounce-back from the worst of the recession. However, rebounding property fundamentals and strong valuations, record sales transaction volumes, and low interest rates all fueled commercial and multifamily borrowing and lending activity that easily outpaced previous periods.” The highest increases in commercial and multifamily lending volumes occurred in hotel, office, industrial and retail properties when compared to the fourth quarter of 2020. There was a 167 percent year-over-year increase in the dollar volume of loans for hotel properties, a 122 percent increase for office properties, a 113 percent increase for industrial properties, a 109 percent increase for retail properties and a 57 percent increase for multifamily properties. On the flipside, however, healthcare property loan originations decreased 17 percent …
Surging payrolls, new household formations, growing barriers to homeownership and multifamily’s role as a hedge for inflation all helped fuel robust apartment fundamentals in 2021. With interest rates expected to rise in 2022, the question becomes: will the appetite for apartment investments remain strong for all types of investors and in which markets? Hilary Provinse, executive vice president and head of mortgage banking at Berkadia, says she sees many reasons to be enthusiastic about the opportunities in multifamily markets this year. “Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will continue to set the standard for multifamily lending; however, strong life company, bank and debt fund appetites will compete heavily again in 2022. They will fill the needs not met by the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) or HUD.” When it comes to accelerating multifamily trends, Provinse sees an expansion in the scope of multifamily interest: “One of the trends we see accelerating (as a result of COVID) is increased investor demand in not only secondary markets, but even tertiary markets. This was a trend we had seen a decade ago, but now it’s on steroids.” “Because people can work from wherever now and because of more flexible work arrangements…we’ve seen this willingness to …
ATLANTA AND NEW YORK CITY — Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust Inc. (BREIT) has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Preferred Apartment Communities Inc. (PAC) for approximately $5.8 billion. Under the terms of the agreement, BREIT will acquire all outstanding shares of PAC’s common stock for $25 per share in an all-cash transaction. PAC’s portfolio includes 44 multifamily communities totaling approximately 12,000 units concentrated largely in Atlanta, Orlando, Tampa, Jacksonville, Charlotte and Nashville, as well as 54 grocery-anchored retail assets comprising roughly 6 million square feet in Atlanta, Orlando, Nashville and Raleigh. BREIT will also acquire PAC’s two Sun Belt office properties and 10 mezzanine/preferred equity investments collateralized by new or under-construction multifamily assets. “Investing using BREIT’s perpetual capital will enable us to be long-term owners of these vibrant communities,” says Jacob Werner, co-head of Americas acquisitions for BREIT. “The company’s grocery-anchored retail portfolio performance has also been strong and resilient, and we believe these types of necessity-oriented assets located in areas with growing populations are well positioned for continued growth.” Joel Murphy, PAC’s chairman and CEO, says the transaction is an excellent outcome for shareholders and the culmination of efforts over the past few years to simplify and …
ZMX, Forbes Plunkett Secure Construction Financing for $67.7M Multifamily Project in Metro Nashville
MADISON, TENN. — Nashville-based ZMX Inc. and Forbes Plunkett Real Estate & Development has secured construction financing for The Northern, a 297-unit, garden-style multifamily development in Madison. Atlanta-based Patterson Real Estate Advisory Group arranged the development financing with Origin Investments and Fifth Third Bank for the $67.7 million project. Construction is slated for completion by early 2024. The Northern will offer studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom floorplans ranging from 592 square feet to 1,285 square feet. Community amenities will include a pool, fitness center, clubhouse with outdoor grilling areas, several green spaces and pocket parks, dog park and a dog spa. The project is located close to downtown Nashville.
HIALEAH, FLA. — Doral, Fla.-based The Easton Group and Irvine, Calif.-based LBA Logistics have acquired a 26.4-acre development site in Hialeah, about 11.6 miles from Miami. The joint venture purchased the land for $29.4 million with plans to build two speculative warehouse and distribution facilities on the site. The two buildings will total 462,954 square feet. Building features will include 36-foot clear heights, 124 trailer stalls and 407 parking spaces. Construction is expected to start towards the end of the year and take about 18 months to complete. Located at 4220 West 91st Place, the project is located about 17 miles from Miami Beach and 10 miles from the Miami International Airport. Easton Group and LBA Logistics are also partnering on a 266,760-square-foot warehouse development in nearby Hialeah Gardens, which is slated for completion by the second quarter of this year. Easton Group is scheduled to deliver 393,910 square feet of industrial space in Miami-Dade County over the next six months.
TAMPA, FLA. — Athens, Ga.-based Landmark Properties has plans to develop The Metropolitan at Tampa, a 760-bed student housing community within a half-mile of University of South Florida (USF). Construction is slated to begin in June with the property opening to students in August 2024. The Metropolitan at Tampa will offer studio, one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom floorplans. In total, the four-story residential community will include 276 units and 1,779 net square feet of ground-floor retail space. The property was formerly a Quality Inn hotel. Located at 2701 E. Fowler Ave., The Metropolitan’s features will include fully furnished units, a complete appliance package and high-speed internet and cable. Community amenities will include a rooftop pool deck, ground floor courtyards, fitness center, 620-space covered parking deck and study and gaming lounges.
LAWRENCEVILLE, GA. — RealSource Group has arranged the $9.4 million sale of a single-tenant property occupied by LA Fitness at Lawrenceville Town Center, a shopping center in the eastern Atlanta suburb of Lawrenceville. Austin Blodgett of RealSource, in association with ParaSell Inc., represented the seller, New York-based DLC Management. The undisclosed buyer was a private investor based in Dallas. Built in 2020, the LA Fitness building spans 34,000 square feet. The property’s co-tenants include a Kroger supermarket and fuel station, H&R Block, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Verizon Wireless, Aaron’s, Rainbow Shops, Ameris Bank, Coast Dental, Burger King, Tidal Wave Auto Spa, Kumon and Lawrenceville Health Center. Located at 600 Gwinnett Drive, the property is positioned at the signalized intersection of Grayson Highway and Gwinnett Drive. The property is also situated 3.2 miles from Georgia Gwinnett College, 42.7 miles from downtown Atlanta and 42.6 miles from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The total volume for commercial and multifamily mortgage originations is expected to hit a record of over $1 trillion in 2022, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) forecast released on Monday at the 2022 Commercial/Multifamily Finance Convention and Expo. MBA’s forecast represents a 13 percent increase from 2021’s estimated volume of $900 billion. “2021 was a remarkable year for commercial real estate markets, and we expect 2022 to continue that momentum,” says Jamie Woodwell, MBA’s vice president for commercial real estate research. “Commercial real estate lending volumes are closely tied to the values of the underlying properties. In 2021, those values rose by more than 20 percent, and those increases will fuel further demand for mortgage debt in the coming years. Continued increases in property incomes, and stability in the ways investors value those incomes, should also support solid demand for mortgage capital, even in the face of modest increases in interest rates.” In past years, MBA’s forecast targeted lending by dedicated commercial and multifamily lenders, which excluded mortgages made by many smaller and midsized depositories. The lending volumes in this year’s forecast includes those institutions. Multifamily lending is expected to reach $493 billion in 2022, …
HIALEAH, FLA. — Terreno Realty Corp. has acquired an industrial property in Hialeah for $73.2 million. The seller was not disclosed. Located at 4281-4341 West 108th St. on nearly 20 acres, the industrial property includes two recently developed rear-load distribution buildings totaling approximately 407,000 square feet. The property features 124 dock-high and four grade-level loading positions, 32-foot clear heights and parking for 359 cars. Additionally, the property is expected to obtain LEED certification. The property is fully preleased to two undisclosed tenants with leases expected to start in May and September. The property is situated immediately adjacent to Terreno Realty’s five existing buildings on West 108th Street and adjacent to Florida’s Turnpike and Interstate 75.
ASHLAND, VA. — Berkadia has arranged the $45.3 million sale of Ashland Towne Square, a 218-unit garden-style multifamily property in Ashland. David Hudgins, Carter Wood and Drew White of Berkadia represented the seller, a Virginia-based entity doing business as Ashland Apartment Associates LP. The buyer was Maryland-based Acento Real Estate Partners. Ashland Towne Square offers one-, two- and three-bedroom floorplans. Unit features include air conditioning, in-unit washer and dryer hookups and walk-in closets. Community amenities include a swimming pool, laundry facilities and a playground. Located at 204 Kings Arms St., the property is situated 19 miles north of Richmond and 26 miles from Richmond International Airport. The property is also near Route 1, Interstate 95 and the shops and restaurants along England Street.