SEIX - 3 Reasons To Consider Real Estate Credit Now

2023-11-04 10:00:00 ET

Summary

• Interest rates are higher than pre-COVID 19 and expected to stay high in the long term, which should support yields.
• Real estate equity prices have fallen since early 2022, so new loan collateral values will likely be lower than previous peaks.
• Proposed higher bank capital requirements could diminish bank lending, which non-bank lenders could fill.

B Michael Sobolik, Managing Director, Regional Investment Strategist, North America, Invesco Real Estate

The time may be right for investing in real estate credit. Interest rate hikes raised yields on a broad range of credit investments, including real estate credit.

Proposed regulatory guardrails for banks, traditionally the largest providers of commercial real estate credit, may create opportunities for non-bank lenders. Here are the three reasons why we see opportunity in real estate credit.

1. Higher interest rates

The Federal Reserve’s 525 basis-point federal funds rate increase since March 2022 is one of the most aggressive rate escalations in US history.

This comes after several years of record-low central bank policy rates during the 2008-2009 Global Financial Crisis ((GFC)) and the more recent 2020-2021 COVID-19 crisis.

While rates are likely to moderate over the next few years, the likelihood they will return to near-zero levels is extremely low. (See chart below.) We believe this should support higher real estate debt yields going forward.

2. Reduced basis

Real estate values have fallen in almost all key global markets since early 2022 because of elevated interest rates and expectations of slowing global economic growth.

For example, US commercial real estate private market prices peaked in March 2022 and have fallen by 16% on average, with variation by property type. ¹ Because of this, new loans will likely be sized against below-peak collateral values.

Property prices may decline further in the short term if interest rates remain elevated and economic conditions soften before eventually recovering. This highlights the importance of the quality of a loan’s underlying collateral, tenant credit, and sponsorship strength.

It also makes sense to avoid vulnerable sector exposures (e.g., office) and to be realistic about current market value in the underwriting process.

It also makes the credit slice of the real estate capital stack more attractive, in our view. New loans that are 50% to 65% of reset values can provide a sizable cushion for potential short-term price declines. ²

Property price declines provide a reduced basis

Cumulative price gain/loss

Source: Invesco Real Estate using data from Green Street Commercial Property Price Index as of September 2023. CPPI data for single-family rentals and data centers starts after Jan 2020; data as of September 15, 2023.

3. Tighter bank regulation

Since the GFC, tighter regulations have strengthened bank lending practices, reducing some of the more aggressive financing activity in commercial real estate.

Bank regulations are likely to tighten further in response to bank failures from earlier this year. Federal bank regulatory agencies have proposed that large US banks with total assets of $100 billion or more be required to:

• Increase holding long-term debt to improve institution resiliency and help protect against potential bank failures.
• Standardize aspects of the capital framework related to credit, market, operational, and financial derivative risks, reducing subjectivity of risk assessment.
• Require banks to include unrealized gains and losses from certain securities in their capital ratios. ³ Excluding unrealized gains was a hidden risk among bank failures occurring earlier this year.

If this proposal is adopted, it could be costly for banks and dampen their lending activity, in our view.

Bank lending accounts for roughly half of the outstanding US real estate loan volume ⁴ and a higher proportion in the Asia Pacific and EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa). We believe a bank pullback would create opportunities for non-bank lenders.

The opportunity

The potential for higher yields at a reduced basis is attracting investor attention to private real estate credit. And opportunities could expand for alternative lenders if proposed bank regulations reduce bank lending for commercial real estate.

Footnotes

1 Green Street's Commercial Property Price Index®, as of September 15, 2023. The index is a time series of unleveraged U.S. commercial property values that captures the prices at which commercial real estate transactions are currently being negotiated and contracted. An investment cannot be made directly into an index.

2 A loan-to-value ratio range of 50% to 65% is common within the real estate credit industry with respect to the typical loan-to-value ratio of senior loan positions.

3 Federal Reserve Board, “Agencies request comment on proposed rules to strengthen capital requirements for large banks,” July 23, 2023.

4 Source: Federal Reserve Flow of Funds as of June 2023.

Important information

NA 3171602

The opinions expressed are those of the author, are based on current market conditions and are subject to change without notice. These opinions may differ from those of other Invesco investment professionals.

This does not constitute a recommendation of any investment strategy or product for a particular investor. Investors should consult a financial professional before making any investment decisions if they are uncertain whether an investment is suitable for them.

Data as of September 2023 unless otherwise stated.

Basis point is a unit that is equal to one one-hundredth of a percent.

The federal funds rate is the rate at which depository institutions lend to each other.

Capital stack is the layers of funding provided on a real estate investment. Relative risk within the capital stack tends to be associated with payment priority of various positions within the capital stack. The two broadest categories of the real estate capital stack are equity and debt, with debt typically receiving senior priority on loan repayments.

The value of investments and any income will fluctuate (this may partly be the result of exchange rate fluctuations), and investors may not get back the full amount invested. Property and land can be difficult to sell, so investors may not be able to sell such investments when they want to. The value of property is generally a matter of an independent valuer's opinion and may not be realized.

Interest rate risk refers to the risk that bond prices generally fall as interest rates rise and vice versa. An issuer may be unable to meet interest and/or principal payments, thereby causing its instruments to decrease in value and lowering the issuer's credit rating.

Generally, real estate assets are illiquid in nature. Although certain kinds of investments are expected to generate current income, the return of capital and the realization of gains, if any, from an investment will often occur upon the partial or complete disposition of such investment.

Investing in real estate typically involves a moderate to high degree of risk. The possibility of partial or total loss of capital will exist.

3 Reasons To Consider Real Estate Credit Now by Invesco US

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