We deployed our world-spanning journalistic resources-- well, one crack reporter anyway--this week to San Diego for the Mortgage Bankers Association annual meeting, buttonholing as many finance pros as we could (and we'll do it even better next year, when the meeting returns to Florida). MBAs Jamie Woodwell says investors are now chasing yield into secondary and tertiary markets. And underwriting is still cautious in the hinterlands. As those tertiary markets job growth recovers, so too will underwriting loosen, Jamie says.
We sat down with Arbor Commercial Mortgages COO John Caulfield about what he sees for 2013s lending market. And it may just become about the conduits. To me, its a game changer with the conduits coming back into the market, John says. It means there is more capital chasing deals, in turn creating competition. But, with new capital in the marketplace, John also questions whether lenders in general will "feel the pressure to be more aggressive. We have to be careful to manage the borrowers expectations.
February, the month when you remember why it's better to be in Florida. Send ideas and suggestions to dees.stribling@bisnow.com.
