Commercial lending

Midtown Manhattan, once the pinnacle of U.S. office markets, is facing a jump in large, empty work spaces as new towers open and tenants spread out across the city, including outer boroughs that businesses once shunned.

Walker & Dunlop has agreed to acquire the other half of a commercial mortgage-backed securities joint venture it has with Fortress Investment Group.

Greystone in New York has hired Gregory Forester to lead a new group for hospitality-focused lending and investing.

Eagle Bancorp in Bethesda, Md., has hired four bankers to a develop a business line making Federal Housing Administration-insured loans for multifamily rental properties.

CrediFi, a New York-based provider of commercial property data, is launching CMBS Suite, which it said is an information resource for lenders looking to refinance securitized commercial mortgages.

But the strong demand for tax credits from those projects is also whittling down the investment returns as their riskiness declines, according to a new report by the New York-based accounting firm CohnReznick.

A recent tax change will provide more stability to banks and developers that use the low-income housing tax credit program, and the supply of below-market-rate apartments should increase as a result. But it's not enough to create the economic incentives needed to meet skyrocketing demand for affordable housing in the U.S.

The Federal Reserve's interest rate increase has commercial real estate debt and equity financing players even more upbeat about their prospects in 2016.

Owens Realty Mortgage has promoted its chief financial officer, Bryan Draper, to chief executive and president.

For commercial real estate investors, the good times may be over.