The Real Estate Lenders Association and Chandan Economics present Spring 2015 Survey of Commercial Real Estate Lender Sentiment

The Real Estate Lenders Association (RELA) unvield the findings of its Spring 2015 Survey of Commercial Real Estate Lender Sentiment. The survey features analysis by RELA's national economist Dr. Sam Chandan, president & chief economist at Chandan Economics and a professor in the associated faculty at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Key Findings from the Spring 2015 Survey * Following several years of rising volume, survey respondents overwhelmingly expect that new lending activity will peak in 2016 or 2017. Just 17 percent of lenders responding to the current survey's special questions on the market cycle anticipate that lending volume will peak after 2017. While respondents expressed concerns about the direction of underwriting standards, they expect that competitive pressures will push standards lower until after the lending peak. * The share of lenders expecting to increase the volume of their lending activity over the next year declined since the last survey but remains healthy. Lenders are most reserved in their expectations for the hotel sector, where a significant minority of survey participants now expects an outright decline in their institution's new commitments in late 2015 and early 2016. * In contrast with the near-term outlook for other property types, lenders expectations for the multifamily sector improved from the prior survey. Lenders comment that caps on agency volume may constrain new multifamily lending by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, supporting demand for non-agency financing of apartments.