Commercial real estate lending

Washington Trust shares plunged after the Westerly, Rhode Island, company disclosed it booked an office deal in the third quarter, boosting the size of its portfolio while other lenders are pulling back.

But a great deal of variation in distress levels were reported between individual markets and property sectors, according to two new reports.

The work-from-home era has wrecked old assumptions about the need for office space, leaving an unprofitable glut in the market, Willy Walker said.

Demand-driven inflation will continue to be a problem in the U.S. economy until we somehow work through trillions of excess liquidity provided by the Federal Open Market Committee, writes the Chairman of Whalen Global Advisors.

Lenders including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. have been trying to sell debt backed by offices, hotels and even apartments in recent months, but many are finding that tidying up loan books is no easy feat when concerns about commercial real estate have surged.

The companies have requested an extension of the floating-rate loan, which matured in July, according to a servicer report.

Mayor Michelle Wu is offering hefty tax breaks to companies to turn offices into housing, the latest example of a city seeking to address the challenges of remote work hitting downtowns and a lack of affordable residences.

High vacancy rates in U.S. office markets and the impact of rising interest rates on property values in Europe have prompted a brutal selloff in publicly traded real estate stocks and bonds.

The amount of distressed assets rose 10% in the first three months of the year, according to a new report from MSCI Real Assets.

New loan acquisitions fell to their lowest level since 2020, but companies also grew shares of residential securities noticeably over the past three years, S&P Global Market Intelligence said.