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One number keeps coming up in commercial real estate circles this year: $875B. 

That’s the amount of CRE loans coming to maturity in 2026. And while that number is smaller than it was last year, that’s because lenders have stopped extending loans to give owners more time to pay. Now, with interest rates holding steady and 10-year and 30-year bond rates rising, it seems that cheaper debt isn't on the horizon. 

While this is bad news for some, for others, it’s an opportunity.

Vik Uppal started Mavik Capital in the wake of the Global Financial Crisis, betting on the distressed market. His first fund raised $335M, his second nearly doubled that, and now he is working to raise $1B, aimed at owners who can’t refinance and lenders who don’t want to foreclose. 

Uppal sat down with Bisnow Editor-in-Chief Mark F. Bonner on First Draft Live to talk about his plans in these turbulent times. He said the CRE industry has gone through a very challenging six years and is wading through a volatile environment, but that environment is bifurcated. 

“There are certain parts of the market [where there are] larger players, capital that’s flowing efficiently … but then there are other parts of the market where capital is not necessarily flowing as rationally, and that’s what we really focus on,” Uppal said. 

Uppal said Mavik’s strategy is very flexible by design, which allows the firm to go into every situation and figure out the best way to invest for the specific opportunity. It also allows his team to invest in the most honest, flexible way and focus on areas they feel are mispriced and the return is greater than the perceived risk. 

View the full conversation here: