Sara Havlena

There will be plenty of available debt and equity for multifamily this year with all capital providers striving to compete.  Lenders consider multifamily a safe asset class and see increased demand because of the predicted housing shortage.  Banks will be a great source of capital, but for long-term money, life companies and agencies will win More

Lenders are re-entering the retail market driven by grocery-anchored centers with long-term leases.  Ample competition in the multifamily and industrial space will lead more lenders to retail in their search for yield this year.  Expect lenders to look closely at tenant profile, sales, customer base and market demographics.  Lenders will be cautious with non-essential retail More

Capital will be available for land but expect lenders to revert back to conservative traditional underwriting because of perceived risk in the space.  Active non-bank lenders are expecting a busy year — as banks have pulled back — yet there is a lot of development getting approved, especially in the residential market.  The stronger the More

Hoteliers are starting to see construction lending open up once again, although with more conservative terms.  Many lenders seem encouraged by vaccine distribution and foresee a strong rebound of travel during the second half of the year.  The limited amount of recent construction lending and some supply being removed from the system over the last More

The manufactured housing community (MHC) sector will be strong this year with ample capital chasing deals with competitive terms. Lenders will be drawn to the logical, predictable and durable cash flows, along with the fact that this property type naturally lends itself to social distancing versus large high-rise apartments. MHC also offers an affordable alternative More

Developers will see an increase in the amount of available construction capital in the coming months.  The combination of the economy moving in a positive direction and banks returning to the sector will spur lending activity.  Many lenders that were on the sidelines are also returning to the space in their search for yield.  Life More

Lenders are re-entering the office sector in their search for yield, although expect a more conservative approach.  As competition for multifamily and industrial intensifies, lenders will see the benefits of funding office.  Financing will be highly dependent on the asset’s location, strength of sponsorship and tenancy.  There will be less focus on downtown/core locations and More

Hoteliers will see more and more available capital as the year continues, with hopes that travel will kickstart again this summer.  Count on non-bank and debt fund lenders to be the most active, while banks will slowly trickle back into the sector.  All eyes will be on vaccine distribution, which will lead to increased economic More

Banks, debt fund and bridge lenders will be the best bet for student housing loans during the first half of the year. Look for more equity required on acquisitions, higher DSC requirements and more attention to specific university, submarket and location. Expect the agencies to continue a cautious approach in 2021. Until demand in the More

Expect more banks to re-enter the construction lending sector in the next few months.  Borrowers will see a major improvement in the number of active banks, as well as a slight increase in proceeds.  Projects with strong sponsors/developers, solid business plans and favorable locations will see available bank capital.  Anticipate bank construction lending to be More

There will be demand from pent-up JV and pref equity investors looking to put money out this year, especially after sitting on the sidelines throughout most of 2020.  Count on a move toward development transactions as investors will be confident that once these projects are complete, the economy will have rebounded.  There will be a More

Borrowers will see an increase in bank lending this year once the vaccine is readily available and people are able to get back to work.  Banks will continue to focus on relationships and will be risk averse, which will show through lower leverage and less available non-recourse dollars.  For the time being, large money center More