commercial mortgage financing - Liberty Realty Capital Group

Lenders Tighten CRE Borrowing Standards

May 6, 2016 by Randybaconin Commercial Mortgage Lending, Real EstateLeave a Comment

Bank and CMBS loan originators tightened their lending standards for all types of commercial real estate loans during the first quarter, a marked reversal from the previous few years.

A significant number of U.S. banks reported tightening standards for construction and land development loans and loans secured by multifamily properties, according to the latest Federal Reserve Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey released this week. Additionally, a moderate number of U.S. banks reported tightening standards for loans secured by office, industrial, retail and hotel properties.

While lenders were tightening their underwriting standards, demands for all three types of CRE loans continued to grow.

In particular, the Fed’s survey of senior loan officers found a moderate net fraction of U.S. banks reported increasing maximum loan size but tightening of their loan-to-value ratios. Another modest net fraction reported tightening debt-service coverage ratios. Survey respondents indicated that other loan terms remained basically unchanged, on net, over the past year.

View entire article at CoStar.com

Net Lease Trends|www.libertyrealtycapital.com

May 6, 2016 by Randybaconin Real EstateLeave a Comment

Despite interest rates rising, if only modestly, and the current commercial real estate cycle seemingly plateauing, sentiment remains largely bullish for the net lease sector.

This is the consensus that comes through in the responses to NREI’s first survey of the net lease real estate sector, which was conducted in February.

Sentiments are rapidly shifting as to where we are in the commercial real estate cycle.

In our 2015 research surveys on various property types, the majority of respondents said we were in the recovery or expansion phase of the cycle. In this most recent survey, 42 percent of respondents say we’re now at the peak of the cycle. Only 36 percent believe we are in the expansion or recovery phase. That said, only four percent of respondents said we are in the recession phase and just seven percent said we are at the trough. An additional 11 percent said they were unsure what phase of the cycle we are currently in.

View entire article and download report at National Real Estate Investor.

Theme Park In A Box

May 5, 2016 by Randybaconin Real Estate, TechnologyLeave a Comment

New Tech Allows Shopping Centers To Install Turnkey Theme Park Experiences

Shoppers don’t often go to the mall to meet basic needs, they’re looking for something more—an experience they can share with family and friends. While most megamalls feature amusement park rides and indoor ski slopes, regional malls in small markets can’t justify the capital expenditure required for such attractions; however, that just got easier. New technologies are allowing centers to offer a theme park-like experience, but with turnkey convenience and the economies of scale that come with amortizing design costs across multiple locations. DreamWorks and Crayola, and companies like them, are producing new attractions that can fill excess space in a regional mall and draw in more visitors. Many shoppers that live in smaller metros do not have a quality theme park nearby, and now retailers and mall owners can turn centers into must-visit family destinations. Indeed, investors might consider buying and repositioning a B mall to become a themed destination.

Read more at: https://www.bisnow.com/national/news/retail/theme-park-in-a-box-new-tech-allows-shopping-centers-to-install-turnkey-theme-park-experiences-59574?utm_source=CopyShare&utm_medium=Browser

To discuss commercial mortgage financing contact Liberty Realty Capital here.

Sun Paper of China Picks Clark County for $1.3B Pulp Mill

April 26, 2016 by Randybaconin Real EstateLeave a Comment

Shandong Sun Paper Industry of China has selected Arkadelphia (Clark County) for a pulp mill plant that will cost between $1 billion and $1.3 billion to build, employ 250 people directly and have an economic impact of up to $100 million a year in the timberlands of south Arkansas.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson and the company’s founder and chairman, Hongxin Li, announced the finalization of a memorandum of understanding (PDF) during a news conference at the state Capitol.

Li said the bio-refinery would also result in 2,000 construction jobs over the two-and-a-half year construction period and about 1,000 indirect jobs.

When it begins operation, the plant will process at least 400 truckloads of small timber per day, which local officials said will generate at least $28 million a year in income for owners of timberland in the area. Sun Paper will provide a new market for small trees that must be thinned from around trees grown for lumber, Sen. Bruce Maloch, D-Magnolia, said.

The average salary for the 250 permanent workers at the Sun Paper plant will be $52,000, according to the memorandum. But locals think it could be as high as $60,000.

As many as 1,000 additional jobs in the timber industry are expected to be created in order to supply the mill.

The plant will begin construction in the Clark County Industrial Park, about five miles south of Arkadelphia near Gum Springs, in the first half of next year, with an eye toward a late 2019 production start.

It will be Sun Paper’s first plant in North America.

The company behind the long-planned paper plant had signed a letter of intent with the Republican governor and the Arkansas Economic Development Commission in November to study building the operation. The company considered sites in Camden and Crossett, as well as in Mississippi.

Read entire article in Arkansas Business Journal

To find out more about mortgage financing in Arkansas contact Liberty Realty Capital.

Use FHA Duplex Financing to Become a Real Estate Investor

April 12, 2016 by Randybaconin Commercial Mortgage Lending, Real EstateLeave a Comment

Real estate investors in most cases need at least 25% of the purchase price as a down payment and possibly 35%. But investors willing to occupy one unit of a duplex or similar small multifamily property can get Federal Housing Administration insured loans for as little as 3.5% down. FHA loans are also suitable for borrowers with lower credit scores, and people just getting started in real estate investing.

In November 2014, Scott Trench, a recent college graduate and operations manager for real estate investing social network BiggerPockets, bought a Denver duplex. He put 5% down, moved into one unit and rented out the other. Rental income covered $1,150 of the $1,500 mortgage. A roommate contributed $550 more.

Trench wasn’t just living rent- and mortgage-free. He was also getting started as a real estate investor. In March of this year, he moved out and rented the other side as well. “I’ve got a new set of tenants in there and collect roughly $2,500 per month, on a mortgage of $1,500 per month,” says Trench, who is now renting a place to live while contemplating his next move.

In addition to $1,000 a month income on an investment, he pegs at $20,000 including down payment, he gets tax write-offs, is paying off the mortgage and benefits from any price appreciation. “This is a stepping stone in my real estate portfolio,” Trench says. “It was my home, but it was really an investment property I worked on and lived in.”

What made Trench’s foray into real estate investing work is the Federal Housing Administration’s government-backed mortgage program. FHA will make multifamily loans to borrowers with far lower down payments than almost all other loan programs.

View entire article here on TheStreet.com

To find out more about multifamily financing visit Liberty Realty Capital Group here.

Higher CMBS Defaults Expected in 2016

April 5, 2016 by Randybaconin Commercial Mortgage Lending, Real EstateLeave a Comment

CMBS defaults may spike this year, as the high volume of upcoming loan maturities might leave some borrowers scrambling for funds to refinance their loans, reveal new reports from Fitch Ratings and Trepp LLC.

Defaults on CMBS loans have been on a steady downward slope for the past five years, falling to an annual rate of 0.39 percent in 2015, Fitch researchers note. (CMBS defaults reached a cyclical peak in 2010, at 4.07 percent). The low default rate was aided by both improving property fundamentals and values and healthy CMBS issuance during 2015.

So far this year, however, new issuance has not lived up to expectations. Year-to-date in 2016, U.S. CMBS issuance has totaled $19.0 billion, according to Commercial Mortgage Alert, an industry newsletter. That’s almost a 30 percent decrease from the issuance volume that was recorded during the same period in 2015. This is happening as approximately $211 billion in loans are scheduled to come due between now and year-end 2017, according to research firm Trepp LLC.

The Fitch Ratings team “expects term defaults to tick up slightly in 2016 as the current credit cycle matures. Maturity defaults may also see an increase in the next few years as peak vintage loans, many of which are over-levered, mature. The cumulative default rate, currently at 13 percent, is predicted to increase slightly in 2016 as defaults begin to increase and issuance declines somewhat.”

View entire article here in National Real Estate Investor