For the first time since the dislocation of commercial real estate credit markets in 2007, there are tentative signs of life in the ailing commercial mortgage–backed securities (CMBS) market — a key source of commercial real estate credit for more than a decade.
A $400 million CMBS deal completed in November 2009 with modest financing support from the Federal Reserve’s Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility (TALF) subsequently paved the way for more than $3 billion in private (non-TALF-supported) CMBS issuance. Clearly, the TALF has helped to narrow credit spreads, re-establish price discovery and inject confidence into the market.
It is said that big things have small beginnings. Yet, as welcome as these signs are, the trillion-dollar refinancing crisis in commercial real estate is far from over.
In 2008, commercial real estate was valued at approximately $6.7 trillion, supported by $3.5 trillion in debt financing. More than $700 billion of that debt
