LOS ANGELES—“At different times, one of the agencies will decide that they want more control, because they aren't hitting their numbers or for different reasons, and they adjust their pricing, so you can't make a global statement,” said Ed Zimbler, senior managing director at Berkadia, on the Agencies of change panel at RealShare Apartments. Moderator Gary Tenzer, principal and managing director at George Smith Partners, asked how they decide to go with Fannie Mae or Freddie Mack, and the consensus among the panelists was that it depends, as pricing changes throughout the year.
The other panelists—Jeff Burns, managing director at Walker & Dunlop; Laurie Morfin, SVP at Bellwether Enterprise; Greg Reed, SVP of originations at Capital One Multifamily Finance; Jeff Weidell. President at NorthMarq Capital—said that generally, Freddie offers more interest only under $10 million, while Fannie is better for longer term financing. This year, Freddie won the floating rate business, while Fannie has an underwriting floor. “There are a lot of variables that are always changing, adds Zimbler.
Morfin added that Fannie typically has more innovative products, like the fact that they developed a green lending program before the regulator required it. She also said that Fannie generally has an ease of process, although she agreed that they both have their advantages.
While you develop a feel for each, Weidell said that it is very different now than it has been in the past. “You need to quote both of them all the time,” he said, noting that the pricing is frequently changing. However, he also noted the incredible amount of volume that each are doing: $50 billion each in multifamily, compared to CMBS, which is doing $65 billion across all asset classes. Zimbler added that no one is “anti-agencies.” “Everyone has had great success with both,” he said.
Tenzer closed the discussion by asking what loan products they would like to see from the agencies. Reed piped in first with a specific request: long-term fixed-rate financing with step-down prepayments. Burns added that the agencies were more aggressive on value-add pricing pre-recession, but that they got burned. “This time when yields make more sense, they don't have as good of a product,” he said.
LOS ANGELES—“At different times, one of the agencies will decide that they want more control, because they aren't hitting their numbers or for different reasons, and they adjust their pricing, so you can't make a global statement,” said Ed Zimbler, senior managing director at Berkadia, on the Agencies of change panel at RealShare Apartments. Moderator Gary Tenzer, principal and managing director at George Smith Partners, asked how they decide to go with
The other panelists—Jeff Burns, managing director at Walker & Dunlop; Laurie Morfin, SVP at Bellwether Enterprise; Greg Reed, SVP of originations at
Morfin added that Fannie typically has more innovative products, like the fact that they developed a green lending program before the regulator required it. She also said that Fannie generally has an ease of process, although she agreed that they both have their advantages.
While you develop a feel for each, Weidell said that it is very different now than it has been in the past. “You need to quote both of them all the time,” he said, noting that the pricing is frequently changing. However, he also noted the incredible amount of volume that each are doing: $50 billion each in multifamily, compared to CMBS, which is doing $65 billion across all asset classes. Zimbler added that no one is “anti-agencies.” “Everyone has had great success with both,” he said.
Tenzer closed the discussion by asking what loan products they would like to see from the agencies. Reed piped in first with a specific request: long-term fixed-rate financing with step-down prepayments. Burns added that the agencies were more aggressive on value-add pricing pre-recession, but that they got burned. “This time when yields make more sense, they don't have as good of a product,” he said.
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