Friday, October 5, 2012

Gap Narrowing Between Life Companies and CMBS Debt, Notes RECI



Jeanne Peck
Chicago, IL – The Real Estate Capital Institute noted in September that other than improved CMBS market conditions, much of the focus within the realty capital markets leans toward treasury behavior.  Monthly highlights are as follows:

The gap between life companies and CMBS debt is narrowing as Wall Street
returns with a vengeance.  Conduit loan spreads have tightened by as much as
much as half a point during the past two months.  The net effect is substantially more competition for longer term permanent loans. Banks comfortably dominate funding arena for terms of five years or less, including floating-rate debt.

Even though new construction home sales recently fell, prices posted the largest increases since before the Great Recession.  The housing recovery is uneven and is tied to job growth in select metro areas.  In some cases, a shortage persists for lower priced units!

Fixed-rate home mortgages, again, dropped to record low level-s below 3.5%. Such persistently low rates seem to prove the Fed's monetary policy soundly impacts housing.

Treasury rates dropped during the last half of September - proof that the fed is trying to address a drop in domestic consumer spending within a fragile economic recovery.  Slower growth in China and certain troubled European Union economies add more concern.  Expect rates to stay at low levels in the foreseeable future. 

Credit lines, letters of credit and other unsecured bank-related financial instruments are still challenging to obtain. Banks seek strong collateral backing any type of transactions, erring on the side of caution as far as credit risk; they cannot afford to under-collateralize their investments.

Jeanne Peck with The Real Estate Capital Institute opines, "with mortgage rates at such low levels, much of the attention is towards improving property financial performance."

 She adds, "Debt pricing for core properties is at commodity levels, meaning lenders compete on leverage levels and structure at this time, it's not just about having capital available to lend."

The Real Estate Capital Institute(r) is a volunteer-based research
organization that tracks realty rates data for debt and equity yields.  The
Institute posts daily and historical benchmark rates including treasuries,
bank prime and LIBOR.

Contact:

Jeanne Peck,
 Executive Director
The   Real Estate Capital Institute(r)
3517 West Arthington Street
Chicago, Illinois USA 60624
director@reci.com        




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