LOS ANGELES—Following the fifth consecutive year of increases incommercial real estate lending, the debt financing sector appears“well-positioned to take advantage of further growth in 2015,” saysBrian Stoffers, global president, debt &structured finance with CBRE Capital Markets.“Lenders are showing enthusiasm for additional assignments in theupcoming months and are poised for higher production” in thecurrent year.

Helping to underpin this expectation of higher production is theprospect of more demand for acquisition financing. CitingReal Capital Analytics data, CBRE says in a newreport that property sales rose 17% in 2014. Already this year,investment sales volume was up 38% on a year-over-year basis fromJanuary and February of the year prior, says RCA.

In addition to more potential growth in acquisition activity,CBRE says loan maturities will begin to ramp up, as 10-yearmortgages issued during the boom years of 2005-2007 come due.Mortgage Bankers Association projections show thatscheduled nonbank commercial and multifamily maturities areexpected to increase this year by more than $50 billion Y-O-Y.