Building exterior in Lower Manhattan

NEW YORK CITY—The once-ballyhooed, and dreaded, wall of CMBS maturities is continuing to crumble with less incident than originally expected. S&P Global Ratings said Friday that payoff rates were up in July, and August may continue in the same vein.

July payoffs reached 71% of maturities, starting the third quarter higher than the year-to-date average of 70.7% for the first six months, according to S&P. The month's payoff rate was second in 2017 only to the 74.8% reached in January.

Thus far this year, about 6,041 loans with an original balance of $87.5 billion have either been prepaid or paid off at maturity, S&P says. Of this, $73.8 billion came from loans that were scheduled to mature through July.

The remaining $13.8 billion were payoffs, including prepays, for loans that come due after July, according to S&P data. In addition, 1,213 loans with original balance of $18.2 billion, or 12.6% of the total, were liquidated with a loss.

At this point, says S&P, the '17 maturity wave has dwindled down to its lowest point in the second half of the year, with just about 27% of the total original balance still outstanding. As of July, 1,945 loans with an original balance of $38.4 billion remain outstanding to mature this year. Of these, 27.0% are current, 35.5% are on the master servicer's watchlist, 30.0% are being specially serviced and 7.8% are defeased.

Of the 10 largest loans with a July maturity date, five have paid off, two remain specially serviced, one remains on the master servicer's watchlist, one was extended and one transferred to special servicing. The $131.8-million JW Marriott Chicago Hotel Loan, which remains on the watchlist, did not pay off at maturity, and based on most recent servicer comments the borrower has entered into a forbearance agreement with the servicer, says S&P, which notes that the loan is seeking refinancing. The $82-million Killeen Mall loan transferred to the special servicer in July despite healthy occupancy and limited lease rollover concerns, which S&P says indicates “a conservative sentiment towards high-balance loans backed by mall collateral.”

In fact, retail represents a trouble spot in this year's CMBS maturities, as loss severities for loans in the sector retuned to historical highs during Q3. YTD, loss severities are at 60%, up from 55.2% in 2016 and 45.5% in 2015 and S&P cites “the well-known struggles for many brick-and-mortar retailers of late” as a key factor.

That being said, the ratings agency points out that YTD, 63.8% of the total retail loans scheduled to mature have successfully prepaid or paid off, suggesting that the trouble with retail might be limited to a subset of loans. While the overall retail liquidated balance for the year could still increase over the coming months as the outstanding balance matures, YTD is only at $102 million compared to an average of $500 million historically.

During August, 309 CMBS loans across all property types with an original balance of $4.9 billion outstanding are scheduled to mature. Of those, 43 loans totaling $500 million are currently with the special servicer. Specially serviced loans make up only 4.7% of the total loan maturities in August, which bodes well for July's elevated payoff rate carrying through to the current month.

Building exterior in Lower Manhattan

NEW YORK CITY—The once-ballyhooed, and dreaded, wall of CMBS maturities is continuing to crumble with less incident than originally expected. S&P Global Ratings said Friday that payoff rates were up in July, and August may continue in the same vein.

July payoffs reached 71% of maturities, starting the third quarter higher than the year-to-date average of 70.7% for the first six months, according to S&P. The month's payoff rate was second in 2017 only to the 74.8% reached in January.

Thus far this year, about 6,041 loans with an original balance of $87.5 billion have either been prepaid or paid off at maturity, S&P says. Of this, $73.8 billion came from loans that were scheduled to mature through July.

The remaining $13.8 billion were payoffs, including prepays, for loans that come due after July, according to S&P data. In addition, 1,213 loans with original balance of $18.2 billion, or 12.6% of the total, were liquidated with a loss.

At this point, says S&P, the '17 maturity wave has dwindled down to its lowest point in the second half of the year, with just about 27% of the total original balance still outstanding. As of July, 1,945 loans with an original balance of $38.4 billion remain outstanding to mature this year. Of these, 27.0% are current, 35.5% are on the master servicer's watchlist, 30.0% are being specially serviced and 7.8% are defeased.

Of the 10 largest loans with a July maturity date, five have paid off, two remain specially serviced, one remains on the master servicer's watchlist, one was extended and one transferred to special servicing. The $131.8-million JW Marriott Chicago Hotel Loan, which remains on the watchlist, did not pay off at maturity, and based on most recent servicer comments the borrower has entered into a forbearance agreement with the servicer, says S&P, which notes that the loan is seeking refinancing. The $82-million Killeen Mall loan transferred to the special servicer in July despite healthy occupancy and limited lease rollover concerns, which S&P says indicates “a conservative sentiment towards high-balance loans backed by mall collateral.”

In fact, retail represents a trouble spot in this year's CMBS maturities, as loss severities for loans in the sector retuned to historical highs during Q3. YTD, loss severities are at 60%, up from 55.2% in 2016 and 45.5% in 2015 and S&P cites “the well-known struggles for many brick-and-mortar retailers of late” as a key factor.

That being said, the ratings agency points out that YTD, 63.8% of the total retail loans scheduled to mature have successfully prepaid or paid off, suggesting that the trouble with retail might be limited to a subset of loans. While the overall retail liquidated balance for the year could still increase over the coming months as the outstanding balance matures, YTD is only at $102 million compared to an average of $500 million historically.

During August, 309 CMBS loans across all property types with an original balance of $4.9 billion outstanding are scheduled to mature. Of those, 43 loans totaling $500 million are currently with the special servicer. Specially serviced loans make up only 4.7% of the total loan maturities in August, which bodes well for July's elevated payoff rate carrying through to the current month.

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Paul Bubny

Paul Bubny is managing editor of Real Estate Forum and GlobeSt.com. He has been reporting on business since 1988 and on commercial real estate since 2007. He is based at ALM Real Estate Media Group's offices in New York City.

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