Scott Waynebern
Co-Managing Member at MF1
Within the ups and downs of 2021’s commercial real estate market, MF1, which focuses on bridge loans and multifamily originations, found itself “in the bullseye of the bullseye,” said Scott Waynebern. In a lender’s market, MF1’s originations topped $7.5 billion on 159 loans with a $47 million average loan value — a particularly high figure for a bridge lender, and proof positive of the mass movement to multifamily.
“Somehow all roads lead to us and what we were doing last year, and [we] quickly created the No. 1 brand in the market,” Waynebern said. “We tripled our business.”
MF1’s activity spanned the nation, including a $338 million refinance of a 421-unit luxury high-rise in Brooklyn; a $737 million loan for Tides Equities to acquire and renovate properties in a trio of Sun Belt cities — Phoenix, Las Vegas and Dallas; a $250 million recapitalization of prewar apartments in Washington, D.C.; and a $281 million loan for two apartment buildings in Broward County, Fla.
Last year’s stellar performance built off 2020, during which MF1 quickly mobilized, lending again within 60 days of the March 2020 lockdowns and seeing its volume jump 80 percent from 2019 to 2020. The team’s combined decades of multifamily experience is augmented with a commitment to diversity and inclusion in the hiring process, bringing a variety of life experiences and perspectives to the group.
And 2022 already looks to maintain 2021’s pace, if not exceed it. Pandemic-era housing trends, including the move from higher-cost to lower-cost metros, continues to supercharge the sector. Despite being picky at the beginning of the year, deal volume is running ahead of where it was at the same time last year, Waynebern said, with “the market coming back to us” as inflation and rate fears inject more uncertainty. —P.S.
