Commercial Lending Activity in U.S. Increases in Q2

According to research from CBRE, commercial real estate lending activity gained traction in the second quarter of 2019 following a brief pause at the start of the year amid financial market volatility.

The CBRE Lending Momentum Index, which tracks the pace of commercial loan closings in the U.S, reached a value of 244 in June--up 2.3% from March's close. Compared with a year ago, lending growth is 20.8% above its June 2018 close.

CBRE's lender survey indicated that life company lenders had another strong quarter in Q2 2019, accounting for 26% of non-agency commercial mortgage closings--up from 21% a year ago. Banks continued to lead the four major lender categories, accounting for 35% of loan closings.
 
"Our survey of life company lenders indicates that all are actively quoting deals and most have robust pipelines. These lenders are quoting both fixed- and floating-rate deals, with LTVs up to 65%. Many life companies are also providing higher LTVs on select deals through higher-yielding structured loan products," said Brian Stoffers, Global President of Debt & Structured Finance for CBRE Capital Markets.