Latest Finance Trends

Construction financing will continue to be tough because of less development, tariff volatility, rising costs and overall uncertainty. Although, look for a ton of available capital from the non-bank stretch senior debt funds. More

Borrowers will see plenty of available capital for self storage. Life companies plan to increase allocations this year, CMBS lenders have returned to the market and regional banks will be a larger player, particularly for bridge and construction debt. Self storage has been stable and boasts the lowest default rate of any of the property types. Lenders are starting to take notice of property performance and increasing demand drivers. More

Borrowers will see an increase in industrial loans this year, especially with the boom in e-commerce and many companies trying to optimize their supply chains. Liquidity in the debt markets will continue to increase, underwriting fundamentals will hold and the race for spreads to bottom will continue. Many life companies are prioritizing industrial loans this year so watch for them to stretch underwriting to compete. Lenders will target acquisition and refinance loans. More

There will be equity capital available, but the numbers do not make sense for many deals in today’s market. Therefore, some investors will remain on the sidelines. That could change next year as supply waves are absorbed, since demand is not the problem. Anticipate a push toward opportunistic deals such as recapitalizations and rescue capital. Count on pref equity to be liquid and competitive, while JV equity continues to be difficult to come by. More

Look for more available capital for retail deals going forward. Transaction activity is improving and the return of regional banks to the market will increase competition and put downward pressure on spreads. Watch for lenders to become selectively more aggressive for properties beyond grocery-anchored retail and look at many different types of properties such as More

Condo financing will remain tough to come by. Recent government policies put a lot of pressure on construction costs, which brought the few projects in the works to a screeching halt. Although, sales and new construction had been slow even before the recent tariff policies. Count on lenders to be very selective going forward and More

Borrowers will see cautious land lending this year. Deals getting funded will most likely be acquisitions or recent acquisitions. Banks will be very selective on land loans and most of the capital will come from debt funds and private money. Lenders will strongly scrutinize the ability of the developer to obtain construction financing in order to assess the probability of being taken out of the loan. Expect land lending to return to more normal levels in 2026 and 2027. The timetable for development financing and securing the necessary equity to go vertical on projects will create the need for land loans the next few years. More

Count on CMBS originations to increase to $100B+ this year. There has been an upward trend in issuance and lower spreads have generally held, leading to more activity. The market seems able to clear the bonds easily as there is healthy demand in the capital markets for bonds. The CMBS market will be liquid, although the amount of capital deployed will be a function of pricing. Keep an eye out for more competition for institutional-quality assets, although more CMBS lenders will consider office once again. More

There will be an abundance of debt options in the student housing space this year with new lenders entering the game. Many capital providers looking for additional yield and portfolio diversification are opening to new property types, including student housing, which should result in greater lending competition and improved terms for borrowers. Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae will be active along with the life insurance companies and many banks. More