Sondra Wenger, head of capital markets at KBS, sat down at Bisnow’s Southern California CRE Finance Conference in LosAngeles to share her expertise on New Capital, New Models.
The conversation made one thing clear: capital has become more disciplined. A few key takeaways from Sondra’s remarks:
– Bifurcation by market continues to reign – Liquidity is flowing to institutional-quality
assets and experienced sponsors. Transitional and highly leveraged properties remain constrained.
– Three areas are driving activity – 1. recapitalizations tied to the maturity wall, 2. private credit and structured positions, and 3. selective equity where pricing has reset and fundamentals hold.
– Disciplined deals are getting done – Experienced sponsors with strong underwriting, a realistic basis and flexibility across the capital stack are closing transactions.
– Private credit has become a core component, not a supplement – Flexibility comes with tighter structures, stronger control rights and higher costs, but speed and execution certainty are the value-add.
– California is still compelling – “California has something that nobody can take away from it: the weather and the intellectual capital… Never take California off your map.”
The panel proved to be a valuable discussion with Damian Gancman, Afshin Kateb, Evan Kinne, Alexander Stekler and Carrie Nikols. Thank you to Bisnow for bringing this group together.
To view the Webinar go to Bisnow