Retail real estate borrowers with loans maturing, even some who had refinancing committed, saw lenders’ doors slam shut last year. “You didn’t know what tenants were going to survive, flourish or have to move out, and you didn’t know which ones were going to be able to pay rent or need some assistance,” said NorthMarq Dallas managing director and senior vice president of debt and equity Ron Reese. Now lenders are returning to the market.
Financing for all but best-in-class, grocery-anchored centers and credit tenant, net lease properties froze for a good three to four months last year. “The retail deals we were transacting on we couldn’t close because we couldn’t deliver estoppels that said tenants were paying rent, and tenants didn’t know what their future looked like,” said Reese. However, the market began to thaw late in the third quarter, and more lenders are continuing to trickle back.
