Speaking Engagement

Views on Construction Lending: Owners vs. Lenders

Blank Rome is a sponsor of the 3rd Annual Financing Commercial Real Estate Forum, being held on Thursday, September 26, 2019, from 7:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., in Washington, D.C.

Blank Rome Partner Elaine H. Scivetti is moderating a panel discussion, “Views on Construction Lending: Owners vs. Lenders,” from 11:10 to 11:50 a.m., which will cover:

• the void owners are filling in the market
• which construction projects are getting financed and why
• advantages/disadvantages of borrowing from an owner v. traditional lender v. debt fund

Elaine will be joined on the panel by:

• Hilary Goldfarb, Senior Vice President, Rockefeller Group
• Norman Jemal, Principal, Douglas Development
• Thomas Whitesell, EVP Group Head, Real Estate, Pacific Western Bank

The forum will present insights from the industry’s most dynamic players nationwide on the state of lending, including:

• What’s driving the internationalization of real estate as an asset class and is the United States still a safe haven for foreign capital?
• Which are the hottest markets in the United States for domestic vs. foreign investment?
• What impact is increased competition having on spreads?
• How are lenders maintaining their competitive edge in the market?
• Which property types are attracting financing, and what’s the lender appetite for transitional vs. stabilized assets at this point in the cycle?
• Where are the market’s pockets of distress / areas of opportunity beginning to show?
• As we (perhaps) near the end of the cycle how are bridge loans on transitional assets performing?
• How is the CRE CLO sector holding up compared with 2018, and how is its collateral faring?
• Why are an increasing number of owners launching debt arms, and how do they compare with more traditional construction lenders?