REITs Have Provided More Than $14B In CRE Loans This Year
As traditional lenders become more strategic in their commercial lending, alternative lenders like REITs are increasingly stepping in to fill the gap.
In the first half of the year, REITs accounted for $14B in loans, CoStar reports. Commercial financing REITs raised more than $2B through IPOs, as well as through secondary debt and equity offerings.
Alternative CRE lending has become increasingly attractive in recent months because lenders are typically subject to fewer regulations than banks, CoStar reports.
Ten finance REITs stood out from the rest, including Blackstone Mortgage Trust, which increased its activity by 44% in the first half of the year, and KKR Real Estate Finance Trust, which grew its year-to-date lending total to $1.2B.
Meanwhile, Colony NorthStar is making the move to combine its portfolio of assets with affiliates NorthStar Real Estate Income Trust and NorthStar Real Estate Income II to form a new finance REIT with $5.5B of assets under management.
