MetroGroup Realty Finance founder Pat Ward sums up the (near) future of real estate lending in metro San Diego in a word: refi. (Stock up on pens, folks, it's the year of paperwork.) He says that in 2015 commercial loan maturities will surge, and borrowers are already looking to get ahead of the wave because interest rates are still pretty low. The trend is national, he adds, with the MBA forecasting a 72% spike from this year to next in commercial and multifamily loan maturities by non-bank lenders.

Recently OC-based MetroGroup arranged more than $30M in financing for the acquisition and refi of three SoCal properties totaling more than 194k SF. One of the properties was the 30k SF 4S Ranch Village Shopping Center in San Diego, owned by Blue Stoddard Group, which was refi’d for $10M. It was a tricky deal, Pat says, because of delays in permitting and other government approvals. Even with an abundance of capital in the market, lenders remain careful in due diligence, Pat explains.