Real estate lending: Where are we now?

There are two major questions being asked when it comes to the real estate lending markets today: What is going on in the real estate lending markets today? And are there opportunities to make investments during these challenging times?

“The lending markets today are essentially frozen,” says Ryan Krauch, principal at Mesa West Capital. “In fact, there was a Mortgage Bankers Association survey that came out in May that indicated for private borrowers, and CMBS borrowers in particular, there is really no appetite at all for quoting new deals.”

Krauch goes on to explain that some of the banks and life insurance companies had indicated some desire to quote, but there really isn’t a lot of evidence to date that lending is happening.

“The only exception to all of this are the agencies — Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac,” says Krauch. “On multifamily deals they have a charge to maintain liquidity through periods like this, and they are certainly doing a fine