CLO Distress
Commercial Observer
Connecting and informing industry leaders of trends and individuals defining the global commercial real estate landscape
Distress in the market for collateralized debt obligations on commercial real estate helped bring down the economy 15 years ago. There’s wobbliness again in the CLO market, though no one expects things to get quite as dicey this go-round. Find out the details. Also for today: A lot of commercial mortgage-backed securities loans on office properties could be “very difficult” to refinance this year, according to a new report.
— Tom Acitelli, Deputy Editor
Insurance Capital Playing Increased Role in Commercial Real Estate Finance
With interest rates expected to stay higher for longer in 2024, the commercial real estate industry is eagerly awaiting the moment when an uptick in transaction volume pierces the lingering clouds with a ray of sunlight. In this environment, several lenders have retrenched in the meantime or had the spigot for their sources of funding switched off. Others, however, have found sources of more patient, stable capital to maintain their activity levels. This latter group includes private lenders who have raised substantial funds from insurance companies looking to invest more in commercial real estate credit. “We have done pretty well in providing a suite of services to that group,” Warren de Haan, CEO of Acore Capital, said of the firm’s sharp focus on insurers. “It’s a group that continues to grow as, unlike the banks, there’s not a retracement in the insurance industry.”
Check out our newest Deals of the Week newsletter, featuring the top commercial real estate transactions at a glance — plus a deep dive into the key players behind each transaction.
Office CMBS Payoffs Increased to Start 2024 as $1.15B Came Due: Report
CMBS office debt was paid off at an increased rate to start the year, but a deeper look at the data behind the maturities suggests deeper issues at the heart of commercial real estate’s most troubled asset class. A new report from Moody’s Analytics found that $1.15 billion of commercial mortgage-backed securities office debt reached its fully extended maturity date in January and February, with payoff rates reaching nearly 50 percent — an uptick of more than 15 percent from CMBS office debt payoff rates across 2023. However, Moody’s economists cautioned that last year’s putrid CMBS office payoff rate of 35 percent should not be discounted, despite the market now showing signs of improved payoff rates at the start of 2024.
Enjoying these stories on all things CRE? Unlock unlimited access to our content with a subscription. And for a daily version of this newsletter, sign up here.