Cap rates for net lease banks and Bank of America specifically are at their lowest point in eight years. So far in 2014, net lease banks have averaged a cap rate of 5.93% while Bank of America averaged an even lower 5.06%. For comparison, in 2007 at the height of the previous real estate boom, banks averages 6.08% and Bank of America 5.54%. A 15 and 48 basis point difference respectively.

There are several reasons for the current market's historic cap rate lows. The past recession caused a halt in nearly all new construction. This resulted in a stagnant and dwindling pool of assets. Interest rates were also dropped to historic lows - making financing very achievable. Furthermore, a "flight to quality" ensured investors were looking for properties with strong fundamentals such as long lease term, prime location, and investment grade tenant. All these factors have driven a compression in cap rates for net lease properties and especially banks and Bank of America (Rated A- by S&P).

However, these trends are beginning to abate. Interest rates remain low today but have incrementally increased from their sub 2% lows in 2012-2013. This upward trend is expected to continue in the future. Lack of construction has led to a dearth of properties but the wheels of development are slowly getting underway again. As a result, cap rate compression is likely to soon level off.

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Jonathan Hipp

Jonathan Hipp began his career in real estate over 25 years ago. In his early years as a broker, he ventured into the net lease industry and quickly began leading the US net lease market, closing over $3 billion in transactions. In 2005, Jon founded Calkain Companies, a company focused solely on net lease investment services. As President and CEO, he has been instrumental in building the firm into one of the leading Net Lease real estate companies, transacting over $12 billion of net lease deal volume over the past 13 years. He has expanded Calkain’s services to include brokerage, advisory, asset management, capital markets, and industry research. He has become a well-known resource, panelist, and speaker at various Net Lease and Industry conferences and is a regular contributor to GlobeSt.com on real estate trends. In June 2015, Jon’s passion for the real estate business was again recognized as he was nominated for the Top Real Estate Player in the DC area by SmartCEO magazine.