The rules of the game have changed for an investor to obtain mortgage
financing, according to the majority of the 12 lenders who participated
at the New York Real Estate Summit I hosted last month. Forget deals with project rent growth assumptions; the only way a bank
or insurance company is going to lend money is with hard facts.
Transactions must show the hard realities of today. Gino Martocci, a senior vice president at M&T Bank, made a comment
that was echoed by all of the traditional lenders on the panel: “We are
lending to our best customers, customers who have worked with the bank
for years, who have a strong financial statement and the capability to
support a loan even in the worst of times.” Wendy Silverstein, executive vice president at Vornado Realty Trust,
noted: “The larger the loan size, the harder it is to get it financed.” [more]

Clockwise from left: Joseph Moinian, Sam Chandan, David Von Spreckelsen, Robert Levine, Jeffrey Levine and David Lowenfeld spoke at the New York Real Estate Summit yesterday.

Deep price drops and buyers bent on negotiation are trends in all of New York City’s boroughs, but residential developers say they are seeing distinct variations by neighborhood in the magnitude of price drops and the number of deals that make it to closing. “We have found a difference in neighborhoods in terms of closings,” said Robert Levine, president and CEO of RAL Companies & Affiliates, at a residential market panel at yesterday’s New York Real Estate Summit, hosted by The Real Deal columnist Michael Stoler. The Real Deal was a sponsor of the event. [more]