Capital Markets Volume Picks Up for Summer

Capital markets transaction volume is picking up in the month of July. Usually the slow time of the year, this July is seeing increased transaction volume for both debt and equity deals, according to Shlomi Ronen, managing principal and founder at Dekel Capital, who says that the activity is particularly robust for office acquisitions. While this activity is surprising, Ronen believes that it will be a catalyst for increased activity in the second half of the year.

“We have been busier this July than we have been for the last several years. It seems like the acquisition activity has picked up this month, and it is historically a month with very little activity,” Ronen tells GlobeSt.com. “Interestingly, the activity is largely new deals. We are seeing clients tie up new deals.”

The strong activity in the summer is likely driven by a slow first half of the year. In the first half, transaction volume and acquisition activity were slower than expected and there were fewer CMBS maturities driving deals. “The first half of the year was so slow in terms of acquisitions. Usually on the seller and buyer side, if a good amount of deals have closed in the first half of the year, they will go away for the summer,” says Ronen. “There weren't as many transactions in the first half of the year, and now those clients are continuing to look at deals through the summer. I don't know if it is just us in our bubble or if it a larger industry wide trend, but we are really seeing strong summer activity.”

Ronen has seen a particular increase in activity for office acquisitions. “It happens to be office in the case of the clients that we are working with,” he says. “There are three new office acquisitions, and there was another just before the start of the summer.” For the remainder of the year, however, he says that he expects activity to pick up across asset classes, with the exception of retail, which has been slow since the beginning of the year.

Capital markets transaction volume is picking up in the month of July. Usually the slow time of the year, this July is seeing increased transaction volume for both debt and equity deals, according to Shlomi Ronen, managing principal and founder at Dekel Capital, who says that the activity is particularly robust for office acquisitions. While this activity is surprising, Ronen believes that it will be a catalyst for increased activity in the second half of the year.

“We have been busier this July than we have been for the last several years. It seems like the acquisition activity has picked up this month, and it is historically a month with very little activity,” Ronen tells GlobeSt.com. “Interestingly, the activity is largely new deals. We are seeing clients tie up new deals.”

The strong activity in the summer is likely driven by a slow first half of the year. In the first half, transaction volume and acquisition activity were slower than expected and there were fewer CMBS maturities driving deals. “The first half of the year was so slow in terms of acquisitions. Usually on the seller and buyer side, if a good amount of deals have closed in the first half of the year, they will go away for the summer,” says Ronen. “There weren't as many transactions in the first half of the year, and now those clients are continuing to look at deals through the summer. I don't know if it is just us in our bubble or if it a larger industry wide trend, but we are really seeing strong summer activity.”

Ronen has seen a particular increase in activity for office acquisitions. “It happens to be office in the case of the clients that we are working with,” he says. “There are three new office acquisitions, and there was another just before the start of the summer.” For the remainder of the year, however, he says that he expects activity to pick up across asset classes, with the exception of retail, which has been slow since the beginning of the year.