As commercial real estate development aims to rebound from the pandemic in 2021, Rob Stern authored an article for the January 15 issue of Tampa Bay Business Journal detailing how developers and lenders have responded to the pandemic and what to expect going forward.
Lenders and bankers have dealt with unprecedented and unexpected loan defaults, moratoriums on evictions and foreclosures, and new types of loans through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and CARES Act. Lenders moved quickly to understand the entirely new PPP program and begin underwriting, approving and closing these complicated loans, which limited their capacity to facilitate typical loans and meet other financial goals. “As a result, the lending industry will have a large backlog of funds and incentive to make new loans next year,” Stern said.
Though it is expected that banks and attorneys will be busy handling a large wave of collection, eviction and enforcement actions as federal relief runs out in 2021, banks also will be eager to begin making new loans. For the banks’ stability, the most attractive and easiest to finance projects will be those with the strongest deal sponsors who demonstrate a high liquid net worth and provide unlimited and unconditional personal guarantees of the loans.
Each industry will fare differently as it relates to types of projects lenders will pursue. Hospitality and hotels will likely be on hold until tourism can resume, restaurants and retail will be dependent upon consumers returning to work, and office development could be on hold until we know whether businesses will make remote workforces permanent. The easiest to finance projects will be medical use projects and industrial warehouses, like Amazon.
For the full article, you may access the January 15 issue of Tampa Bay Business Journal here.
