Sara Havlena

Havlena is the editor-in-chief of Crittenden Real Estate magazine and The Crittenden Report: Real Estate Financing, Retail Tenants Report and the Multifamily Report and their respective websites. She has been an editor with Crittenden since 2007 and worked on a variety of real estate publications during her time at the company covering a wide range of topics from restaurant expansion to real estate developers. She has been the lead reporter and editor of Crittenden’s flagship publication, The Crittenden Report, since 2011. She has a degree in Print Journalism from Cal State Fullerton, and resides in Orange County, Calif.

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  • in Deal of the Week, Premium

    Deal of the Week: Multifamily Development in Charlotte, N.C.

    The 242-unit property is currently under construction and is scheduled for completion this fall. Thorofare liked the very desirable location in the NoDa neighborhood of Charlotte, as it is walkable to downtown, providing tenants access to various retail, restaurant and nightlight venues. The property’s location next to the light-rail station is considered a competitive advantage as tenants will be able to utilize the light rail, as well as the adjacent parking garage. More

  • in Latest Finance Trends, Premium

    Industrial will remain strong with plenty of available capital

    Financing for industrial will continue to be strong from all lender types, especially for stabilized properties and those with preleasing. Financing for spec industrial construction deals will depend on the submarket vacancy rate and the level of supply that is coming online. Industrial has a bit of an advantage over multifamily because of rents and government policies in certain markets. Borrowers will see plenty of available capital, although lenders could be a bit pickier going forward. More

  • in Latest Finance Trends, Premium

    Retail borrowers will see plenty of capital

    Look for all types of lenders to seek retail deals throughout the rest of the year. Retail is stable and many consumers have returned to brick-and-mortar retail stores. Retail vacancies are at an all-time low and the lack of new development set to come online will continue to drive demand, as well as lead to better pricing. Look for lenders to be more aggressive in underwriting, with lower rates and more proceeds. As lenders work through challenged office loans and seek payoffs, they are looking to redeploy that capital into retail, a net positive for the retail sector. More

  • in Deal of the Week, Premium

    Deal of the Week: Retail Pad Site in Phoenix

    Western Garden Commercial is a retail pad site equaling ~24.5 acres of land just a few miles south of the Cardinals Stadium. The subject is nestled among the Taylor Morrison and Fulton Homes SFR communities and the Algadoon Center being developed by Lennar. The borrower needed to refinance out of a private money deal and needed funding to complete pad delivery for a sale and/or ground lease delivery. More

  • in Latest Finance Trends, Premium

    Office lenders still hesitant to clock back in

    Borrowers will see available capital for office, although lenders will continue to be extremely selective and cautious. Refinances and acquisition loans will be challenging for the foreseeable future. Lenders will seek financially strong borrowers and properties with stable operating histories and no near-term lease exposure. Office lending will remain tough for a while as many lenders are still dealing with problem loans. Even if the loans are performing well, there will still be issues if they are maturing soon. Count on asset-by-asset underwriting. Borrowers who are trying to get financing without bringing new cash to the deal will face some hurdles. More

  • in Latest Finance Trends, Premium

    Hoteliers see new lenders enter the game

    More lenders are going to be interested in hospitality for the foreseeable future. There will be ample capital going forward and it will come from a wide variety of sources. Watch for life companies, private money lenders and debt funds to be the most active, while CMBS will start to be part of the conversation again. Some banks are re-entering the sector, although most regional banks will still be limited. Debt funds especially had a tough 2023 so they have ample liquidity to put out. Lenders are seeing that they can grab yield in the hotel space as the pricing is higher than some of the other property types. More

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