WASHINGTON, DC-Twenty-four to 12 months ago, Cassidy Turley’sconstruction finance shop was all but idle, with only a few dealsworking their way through its pipeline. Despite the uneven progressof the recovery, both debt and equity have returned to the market,including for condo construction. About the only product type thatfinanciers still shy away from, presuming there are even developersto take the risk, is spec office, David Webb tellsGlobeSt.com.

Three, four months ago lenders’ attitude and appetite forconstruction loans changed almost overnight, he says. "Now they areslowly taking on more risk."

For instance, while more lenders are starting to providefinancing for condo construction, the majority still insist onhaving the deal pencil in as an apartment building as well. Butthere have been cases in which the lender was willing to finance adeal as a condo project because the units were large or otherwiseunique and not well suited for an apartment. That there is debt andequity available for those transactions, he says, is verytelling.