Commercial real estate enters 2027 with capital ready to invest and a large volume of property still working through a very different financing environment. I’m selectively optimistic about what that combination will produce.
The opportunity won’t come from a broad recovery that lifts every property type, market or owner. It will come from understanding where the problem actually sits. Increasingly, that’s the capital structure or the ownership situation, not the real estate.
A distressed owner is not a distressed property
During the past few years, we’ve worked with lenders after they took properties back from borrowers, including through deeds in lieu of foreclosure. Lenders generally aren’t in the business of owning and operating real estate. When they take control, they need operators who can step in quickly, stabilize operations and protect value.
Two recent acquisitions show how this plays out. In the first, a lender broug
