MIAMI—Is it still Groundhog Day? In other words, are we seeing more of the same in the second half of 2013 as we saw in the first half?
That depends on who you ask. We caught up with Dennis Bernard, a partner of Strategic Alliance Mortgage, LLC and the founder and president of Bernard Financial Group, to get his take on how 2013 is panning out.
GlobeSt.com: What are the biggest challenges we face this year?
Bernard: It's Groundhog Day all over again. We have the same global challenges as last year, but with a few more industry specifics. In the hunt for yield and return, we have a plethora of lenders seeking to place mortgages while still having a limited amount of financeable commercial real estate. Will this cause a quickening of overheating lending practices that have haunted us in the past? How strange is it to actually wonder about that after what we have just been through?
GlobeSt.com: What is your view of the economy as it relates to commercial real estate? What do you predict is the pace and depth of recovery in 2013?
Bernard: We expect continued slow growth in the economy due to continued lack of real focus on the national level. This, of course, will continue to effect the performance of commercial real estate. Slow growth equals slow rent up, which equals slow increase in rents, which equals slow growth in values.
GlobeSt.com: What are the biggest opportunities do you see in 2013?
Bernard: The lenders are back in the market full bore and it's an opportunity to take terrific advantage of historically low interest rates. If you have good, well stabilized properties, you can really secure great financing after a well orchestrated bidding war. With the slow but steady improvement in the economy and certain areas nationally actually experiencing isolated strong growth, there will be excellent value-added plays coupled with the easy access to cheap capital.
GlobeSt.com: What factors are fueling those opportunities?
Bernard: Greed. Lenders are getting yield and returns from other investor sectors so they are now returning to commercial real estate.
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