WeWork in CMBS is a Hot Investor Topic

WeWork just opened another location at 1448 NW Market St. in Seattle.

SEATTLE—Coworking continues to experience dramatic growth in tier 1 markets such as Seattle. Between 2010 and 2017, US coworking spaces have grown from 8.1 million to 51.2 million square feet. According to JLL, this growth accounted for more than a quarter of all US office absorption during the 24-month period ending December 2017.

Specifically, WeWork has emerged as the clear front runner in coworking and is also a top tenant in some of the largest loans securitized in CMBS deals, according to Kroll Bond Rating Agency. KBRA has identified 41 transactions where WeWork is a tenant with 30 office and mixed-use whole loans across 46 pari-passu notes (those where two or more assets, securities, creditors or obligations are equally managed without any display of preference).