Losses on soured debt linked to a California shopping center that was foreclosed on more than three years ago surpassed 100%, spurring ratings cuts on one of the last bond deals before the property-market collapse.
The Shops at Dos Lagos was sold for $30 million last month, prompting Fitch Ratings to downgrade almost a quarter of the original $1.16 billion commercial-mortgage backed securities offering from JPMorgan Chase & Co. in 2008, the rating company said in an Aug. 9 report. The Corona, Calif., property was valued at $170 million in April of that year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
The mortgage on the 351,000-square-foot retail outlet went bad seven months after it was sold to investors as part of JPMorgan’s $1.16 billion transaction, sending bond buyers fleeing from the $550 billion market on concern that the loan portended a surge in defaults on boom-era deals. Late payments reached a record 9.01% in July 2011, according to Fitch.
Delinquencies on commercial-mortgages contained in bonds are declining,
The outstanding loan on the Riverside County property was $124 million, accounting for 12.4% of the JPMorgan bond offering, Credit Suisse analysts led by Roger Lehman said in a report today. The building’s sale will lead to a 109% loss after fees and other expenses, according to Fitch.
The shopping center, constructed in 2006 and 2007, had a limited history when the mortgage was taken out and was financed assuming revenues would rise. So-called pro-forma lending was common during the property-market boom.
The retail property was part of a two-stage development that included a residential section, golf course, hotel and a 135-acre wildlife preserve, according to Fitch. The loan was sent to a servicer that deals with troubled mortgages in November 2008 when the borrower indicated that the housing crisis in Southern California had slowed the development’s progress and eroded revenue.
