Year in Review
Commercial Observer
Connecting and informing industry leaders of trends and individuals defining the global commercial real estate landscape
2024 was quite a time for commercial real estate — one of recovery and distress, booms and busts. Read all about the past 12 months’ biggest turning points and trends. Also for today: a $595 million acquisition loan for a 38-property industrial portfolio.
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— Tom Acitelli, Deputy Editor
Commercial Real Estate in 2024 Was All About a Tough Turnaround
On April 8, 2024, millions of Americans briefly left their homes, schools and workplaces to view the Great North American Eclipse, the first total solar eclipse visible from this part of the globe in nearly seven years. Like any solar eclipse, the moon shifted directly between the sun and the Earth, thereby briefly (and totally) obscuring any view of our one star from Texas to Maine. In some ways, this cosmic event became both a harbinger and a fitting metaphor for national commercial real estate in 2024. The industry finally seemed ready to eclipse the nightmarish era of high interest rates that began in 2022, and much of the bad juju about office space seemed to dissipate as employers began issuing return-to-work mandates and signing up for big leases. At the same time, the real estate world remained stuck between the promise of increased transactions and true value discovery on one hand, and the peril of renewed inflation amid the uncertainties of a second Trump administration on the other.
EQT Exeter to Expand Industrial Portfolio With $595M Morgan Stanley, SMBC Loan
Industrial landlord EQT Exeter has secured a $595 million acquisition loan for a 38-property portfolio in key U.S. markets, Commercial Observer has learned. The deal represents the largest bank balance sheet financing for an industrial portfolio so far this year. The five-year, floating-rate loan from Morgan Stanley and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) will help the borrower beef up its already sizable presence in markets such as Phoenix; Columbus, Ohio; and Louisville, Ky., according to a source with knowledge of the deal. EQT Exeter Industrial Value Fund VI closed several deals to acquire the portfolio, which includes industrial assets in Phoenix, Columbus, Louisville and Central Pennsylvania. The firm has acquired 62 million square feet of U.S. industrial space in 2024, and its industrial strategy hinges on buying properties based where it can fully take advantage of the global supply chain as well as e-commerce trends.
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