Tighter credit may slow office buys

Despite recent blockbuster transactions like Kushner Companies’ $1.8 billion buy of 666 Fifth Avenue and Macklowe Properties’ $7 billion purchase of a number of Manhattan towers, tightening credit standards may cause a bit of a slowdown in the commercial market. Lenders are beginning to widen the spread between the most secure loans available to borrowers and the riskier mortgages that have proliferated in recent years. The shift comes as lenders wonder whether buyers who pay sky-high prices for properties will be able to hike office rents enough to turn a profit. more [Sun]