National + Finance | May 15, 2023

CBRE: Lending Momentum Continued to Slow in Q1

Stress in the banking system and financial market volatility continued to slow commercial real estate lending activity in the first quarter of 2023, according to the latest research from CBRE.

The CBRE Lending Momentum Index, tracking the pace of CBRE-originated commercial loan closings in the U.S., declined by 33% from Q4 2022 and 53.5% from a year earlier. The index closed Q1 at a value of 204.

“The Federal Reserve’s commitment to reduce inflation with aggressive rate hikes continued to heighten market uncertainty through the first quarter. While plenty of debt capital remains available, increased borrowing costs coupled with credit tightening continues to put downward pressure on lending activity,” said Rachel Vinson, president of debt & structured finance, U.S. for capital markets at CBRE.

She continued, “Borrowers will continue to opt for shorter-term, fixed-rate debt with shortened call protection until volatility begins to normalize.”

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CBRE's Vinson

About Paul Bubny

Paul Bubny serves as Senior Content Director for Connect Commercial Real Estate, a role to which he brings 13-plus years’ experience covering the commercial real estate industry and 30-plus years in business-to-business journalism. In this capacity, he oversees daily operations while also reporting on both local/regional markets and national trends, covering individual transactions across all property types, as well as delving into broader subject matter. He produces 15-20 daily news stories per day and works with the Connect team and clients to develop longer-form content, ranging from Q&As to thought-leadership pieces. Prior to joining Connect, Paul was Managing Editor for both Real Estate Forum and GlobeSt.com at American Lawyer Media, where he oversaw operations at both publications while also producing daily news and feature-length articles. His tenure in B2B publishing stretches back into the print era, and he has served as Editor in Chief on four national trade publications. Since 1999, Paul has volunteered as the newsletter editor of passenger rail advocacy groups (one national, one local).

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