Grubb & Ellis head says at least $150B in commercial refinancing to come

On
Fox Business news last week, David Arena, president of Grubb &
Ellis, discussed why the commercial real estate market deserves a bailout (which he said should really be called a “backstop”) from the federal government. Arena said that there is a
refinancing risk on “every piece of real estate that you see out
there.” According to Arena, there is at least $150 billion to $250 billion of
refinancing expected in commercial real estate next year, and the
bailout from the government will allow banks to lend to developers who
are refinancing projects. Arena said the commercial real estate sector
will suffer for as long as 36 months from now. “We’re in the eye of the
hurricane,” he said.