December/January 2015 Issue

Heading towards the end of 2015, what possible new scenarios might be on the horizon? As we went to press, one was already looming large in the rear-view mirror: the increasing prospect of a rise in US interest rates.

Last month’s damning report by the Bank of England and Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) on the near implosion of HBOS laid the blame squarely at the door of senior executives and criticised the decision not to pursue prosecutions of at least 10 of the bank’s top-ranking staff.

Strong US CMBS issuance in the first half of 2015 was in line with inflated early predictions for a post-recession breakthrough year, but the year-end figures are likely to disappoint.

After a pause around the May UK general election, finance requests have come back strongly, the latest Laxfield Capital UK CRE Debt Barometer shows.

Traditional lenders’ willingness to write riskier loans to compete with the growing pack of non-bank players was a key theme at Real Estate Capital’s first NewYork Forum.

In a competitive market, borrowers value speedy execution and sound covenants as much as low pricing and high leverage, debate at CREFC Europe’s event proved.

Dutch residential property investors have enjoyed a rise in debt liquidity since last summer, with already cheap financing becoming even more competitive and insurance companies now targeting the debt market.

German multi-family housing is as safe a bet now as it ever was, largely owing to the reliable nature of its cash flow, spread among hundreds or thousands of tenants in separate apartments within one complex.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac back wave of multi-family deals.

The UK’s private rented sector has become Europe’s top destination for overseas and domestic institutional fund managers, even though its hard-earned rewards are, for some, a triumph of hope over expectation.

John German of Invesco Real Estate explains why the UK’s private rented sector offers compelling investment characteristics for institutions

A carefully thought-out investment strategy is helping to drive real estate growth at Prudential’s investment manager, M&G, with property head Alex Jeffrey set on building a portfolio that will stand the test of time.

Cain Hoy's Jonathan Goldstein and John Cole have overseen a spate of deals, both debt and equity

Responses to the latest Colliers International and Real Estate Capital Investor Pricing Survey show opinion split exactly 50:50 on whether the UK property market has peaked. The 50% who said it had may point to the lowest yields since just before the 2007 crash, while the average gap between prime and secondary yields has narrowed to 148bps, the lowest since November 2008, suggesting all property is being fully valued.

Fund raising for real estate debt funds has gathered pace since our last issue, with 136 debt funds in the market seeking $56.75bn in capital, compared with the 112 funds aiming to raise $44.5bn a month ago. This month’s data shows 56 Americas funds in the market and 40 European funds, with the rest having […]