Lending Momentum Reaches New High

Stoffers says CRE lending demonstrated its resilience throughout 2016/

LOS ANGELES—In contrast to perceptions that commercial real estate debt has been harder to come by lately, the fourth quarter of 2016 actually represented a new high water mark even amid uncertainty about the global economy. So says CBRE Group, which reports a surge of loan closings in November and December of last year, driving the CBRE Lending Momentum Index to 266, the highest level on record and a 37% increase year over year and quarter over quarter.

“The commercial real estate lending market has shown its resilience throughout the course of the year which made for a stellar end of ’16,” says Brian Stoffers, global president, debt & structured finance, CBRE Capital Markets. “Life companies and several other capital sources have stepped in as attractive options for borrowers as banks continue to tighten their underwriting standards. We expect this momentum to carry into the early part of 2017 as we wait to learn more about the policies put in place by the new administration.”