Deal Closings Postponed, CRE Finance Industry Recovers from Storm
By Carl Gaines October 31, 2012 2:58 pm
reprintsIn the wake of Hurricane Sandy, several people in commercial real estate finance told The Mortgage Observer that the storm’s effect on the industry is dependent on a multitude of factors. But on a Q3 2012 Debt Markets Briefing Webinar Wednesday afternoon, Chandan Economics chief economist Sam Chandan said that the storm isn’t expected to impact long-term projections for overall economic growth.
One commercial real estate banker reached by phone said that he had several deals that were supposed to close Wednesday that had been postponed for up to a week because of the storm. Asked about any lingering financial impact, he said that “it depends upon the type of deal.”
Others bankers weren’t reachable at all by phone Wednesday, despite the fact that their offices were generally above the area of Manhattan that lost power.
Dustin Stolly, a senior vice president in the U.S. Real Estate Investment Banking Group at Jones Lang LaSalle, said that it was “business as usual,” though he added that “everyone is dealing with their personal situations.”
Mr. Stolly acknowledged his work on the financing of a $345 million Chicago acquisition had been pushed back a few days. But he anticipated it closing as planned by the end of November.
During the Chandan Economics Webinar, Mr. Chandan said that the storm’s “immediate impact is a strong and significant drop in economic activity.” Each day, he said, there is normally $9.5 billion to $10.5 billion in economic activity in the Northeast, where much of Hurricane Sandy’s wrath was felt.
“There’s a significant impact when that’s not occuring,” he said, adding that the numerical impact of this hiccup in activity will be seen when October metrics for job creation, new orders and shipment of product are released.
cgaines@observer.com, apirolo@observer.com
