Commercial Mortgages: Apartment owners and developers continue to benefit

Bruce Springsteen may have been talking about the economy's connection to commercial real estate when he sang, "We're runnin' now, but darlin' we will stand in time to face the ties that bind" in his 1980s hit "The Ties that Bind."

The tale of the last month has been one of nasty economic realities sinking in and disturbing a commercial real estate market that was poised to rebound.Perhaps the most important news to commercial real estate continues to be stalled job growth.


Because of heightened economic uncertainty, businesses and individuals alike continue to stockpile cash and safe investments because they are not confident about the future.

Despite a concerted Federal Reserve effort to get money circulating, cash continues to sit on the sidelines. This affects job growth.

Arguably, the largest uncertainty facing the economy is housing.Ownership and investment in a home typically have the largest impact on an individual's net worth, and, therefore, the consumer's outlook.

New housing also is a large creator of employment in the U.S. as well as consumer spending for household-related goods. But the housing sector has been on its rear end for five years, and there is no end in sight.

Record low interest rates would seem to be a good policy for increasing housing demand.
But banks are gun-shy about lending and have tightened their underwriting standards so fewer people can qualify for these low interest rates.

This paradigm is playing out in commercial real estate lending in which weaker sponsors and properties are not able to access the capital markets.

This is typical in a recovery in which banks are getting their balance sheets back in a condition to take more risk.What is confusing and threatens to undermine a natural return to taking risk is the government's $196 billionlawsuit against 17 major banks, the largest producers of home loans and commercial real estate loans. The suit was filed Sept. 2.

At best, this will slow new lending on homes. At worst, it will undermine banks' ability to lend on other assets because of the looming liability related to the lawsuit.

Bad news for some, however, can be good news for others.

Apartment developers and investors continue to benefit from the lack of demand for homeownership. Banks are noticing.

In the latest quarterly banking profile by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., apartment loans were the only significant beneficiary of lending during the past quarter and past 12 months.

The FDIC report shows that loans secured by real estate fell about $36.5 billion during the second quarter and $215.5 billion during the past year.

Commercial real estate loans fell about $5.3 billion during the second quarter and $22.2 billion in the past year. Multifamily loans, however, increased by $1.3 billion in both the second quarter and during the past year.

The Federal Reserve is doing virtually everything to ease monetary policy to try to get money circulating, but how do rates get more accommodative than where they are now?

The 10-year Treasury is hovering at 2 percent, and shorter term Treasuries are at or near zero percent. The low Treasury yields are benefiting commercial and multifamily real estate borrowers, but the cheapest rates are available to a select few.

The five- and 10-year loan rates are 3.75 to 4.75 percent, according to the John B. Levy Commercial Mortgage Survey. Loans for multifamily borrowers continue to be available at much cheaper rates from government-backed HUD, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac programs.

The government arguably has no reason to back market-rate multifamily projects at rates that are lower than are offered by institutional investors, but undoubtedly, apartment loans are a good investment today.

Buy To Let Mortgages

Despite a downbeat economic forecast from Fannie Mae for the near term and into 2012, demand and supply favor apartments for the foreseeable future.

The Richmond multifamily market should benefit in 2012 and during the next five years from an imbalance of demand over supply, according to data from commercial real estate brokerage CB Richard Ellis.The report predicts a modest uptick in the vacancy rate through the end of the year to 7 percent before demand outpaces supply in 2012 when the vacancy rate should fall to 5.1 percent.The report forecasts continued rental growth through 2016 and a reduction in vacancy to 4.6 percent.

Clopton Capital Announces Changes to their Commercial Mortgage Broker Services for Commercial Real Estate Loans

Clopton Capital has just launched a small balance mortgage plan for lending relatively small amounts of capital that most banks and lenders simply will not. The details of this program are outlined on one of Clopton Capital's websites, CommercialMortgageSource.com.

Chicago, IL (PRWEB) September 14, 2011

Clopton Capital is commercial mortgage broker and is located in Chicago, IL. They primarily focus on commercial mortgages, SBA loans, commercial real estate loans and niche financing mechanisms such as gas station loans and owner operator financing. The founder of Clopton Capital is Jake Clopton and this press release is part of Clopton Capital's consistent effort to remain involved with the public, namely their future clients. Clopton Capital can be contacted at CloptonCapital.com.
Clopton Capital has just launched a small balance mortgage plan for lending relatively small amounts of capital that most banks and lenders simply will not. The details of this program are outlined on one of Clopton Capital's websites, CommercialMortgageSource.com. The absolute minimum amount to borrow under this new program is $25,000 and the maximum is $400,000. Clopton Capital believes this program will benefit thousands who have otherwise been turned away by banks who see no interest in lending less than $1,000,000 to a single applicant. In many cases these mortgages can be issued without broker points as well. "I really feel the demand for these loan products will be massive, we're entering a perfect storm where businesses won't be able to get credit, especially if they are borrowing amounts that aren't worth an underwriter's time", said Jake Clopton, the founder of Clopton Capital.

Clopton Capital's future plans involve starting their own in-house commercial mortgage program that will be designed for exceptionally small commercial mortgages and underwritten faster than external capital would be. This program would simply a derivative concept of their current internal bridge loan financing service. "The long term strategy of this operation is to fund a larger and larger portion of loans in-house as time goes on", stated Matt Reed, an associate of Clopton Capital.
Clopton Capital can be contacted at their website CloptonCapital.com or at 866.647.1650 during regular business hours central time. Their website contains more specific information about their working capital products. Their website dedicated to commercial mortgage is CommercialMortgageSource.com.

Next Level Security Systems Provides First Glimpse of New Technologies at ASIS Seminar & Exhibits

ORLANDO, Fla., Sep 14, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Next Level Security Systems ( www.nlss.com ), a provider of a new breed of unified, networked security solutions, will highlight the next evolution of its open platform, IP-based security technologies at the 2011 ASIS International Seminar & Exhibits in Orlando, Fla., Sept, 19-21, 2011. At booth #2373, seminar attendees can get a first look at the newly released NLSS Gateway 2.2, an upgraded version of the company's flagship technology, which integrates video management, IP access control, 10 distinct video analytics, remote managed services and intrusion detection into a single appliance. In addition, Next Level will provide a preview of upcoming product enhancements including an enterprise-class security management platform and mobile applications.

"With the NLSS Gateway 2.2, we have significantly improved functionality and feature sets that can help users streamline investigations and increase situational awareness all while managing the system from anywhere," said Peter Jankowski, Chairman and CEO, Next Level Security Systems. "The NLSS Gateway continues to be the most cost effective security management solution available today and the ASIS conference presents a terrific opportunity to showcase our technology differentiators to prospective and current partners and customers."

Conference events

ASIS conference attendees are invited to view demonstrations of Next Level's technologies and meet the executive team during Next Level's cocktail reception at its booth, #2373, on Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2011, from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Attendees can also hear insights from Jumbi Edulbehram, Vice President of Business Development, Next Level Security Systems, as part of a panel discussion on the retail loss prevention market. The panel, "Crisis Management, Technology Update and Management Effectiveness" will be held on Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2011, from 1:45 p.m. to 3 p.m.

Next Level's open platforms enable integration with a host of industry leading technology companies. Attendees can view and demo a combined Next Level-Sony solution including the NLSS Gateway and the NLSS HD Media Decoder at the Next Level booth #2373 and the Sony booth #2127.

"Working closely with innovators like Next Level complements Sony's strategy of delivering market-wise solutions that anticipate, meet and exceed expectations for customers," said Mark Collett, General Manager, Sony Security Systems Division. "Ultimately, we are in the business of helping end users achieve their goals. Having an in-depth understanding of their business through teaming with fellow market-savvy companies like Next Level is how we deliver real solutions, real innovation, real value."

Stable Yard Security Systems

Throughout the conference, Next Level will demonstrate its advanced IP-based security devices alongside products from its esteemed industry partners including Arecont Vision, ASSA ABLOY, Axis Communications, Bosch Security Systems, EMC, HID Global, Hikvision, IQinVision, Mercury Security, Panasonic, Pelco and Vivotek.

About Next Level Security Systems

Next Level Security Systems is a physical security company delivering a new breed of unified networked security technologies. The NLSS Gateway, Next Level's flagship product, is an award-winning, IP-based security management platform that integrates video management, access control, video analytics and remote management into a single appliance. It is successfully used in the retail, commercial, education, transportation and government markets. All of Next Level's products, sold through distribution worldwide, combine the performance, sophistication and functionality of enterprise-class security systems into a compact, unified and affordable solution. For more information, visit http://www.nlss.com .

SOURCE: Next Level Security Systems

        
        Next Level Security Systems 
        Sales contact: 
        sales@nlss.com 
        (760) 444-1410 
        Media contact: 
        Rhianna Daniels 
        O: (847) 986-6141 
        M: (603) 591-7209 
        rdaniels@compasspublicrelations.com