U.S. recaps hit record highs in 2011

There were a record number, $13.3 billion worth, of national office recapitalizations last year, according to data from Real Capital Analytics cited by the Wall Street Journal, underscoring the huge debt piles accumulated by landlords during the pre-recession property boom.

“There were a lot of white knights coming to help recapitalize” buildings that had mortgage loans coming due last year, said Dan Fasulo, managing director at RCA. Recaps were at their highest level since RCA began tracking the numbers, even surpassing the last peak, in 2007, of $11 billion.

The high volume of recapitalizations is “the function of the market fixing itself,” Fasulo said.

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The biggest recap of the year was Paramount Group and Beacon Capital’s purchase of a 49 percent interest in 1633 Broadway from Morgan Stanley, the Journal noted, in a deal which valued the property at $1.62 million. [WSJ]