The CMBS market will likely continue to deteriorate through the end of the year as the pandemic wears on. This year, the CMBS market was hit immediately by the pandemic, and while the market has rebounded, certain loan classes will continue to deteriorate. Next year will offer better insight into the lending platform.

"It is likely we will see continued deterioration in the performance of various mortgage loan classes as we move closer to the end of 2020," J.D. Blashaw, VP at MetroGroup Realty Finance, tells GlobeSt.com. "In March and April, there was immediate deterioration in some asset classes, like hospitality and retail, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. We anticipate to see the effect the pandemic will have on office properties more clearly in 2021."

It isn't surprising to see lenders avoiding hospitality and retail assets, the two asset classes hit hardest by the pandemic. However, office assets—which face a lot of uncertainty—are also a red flag for cautious lenders. "We already see lenders being very selective with city center office showing a preference for suburban office. We expect it to continue to be extremely difficult to finance any hospitality properties," says Blashaw. "The only retail that is being considered today by the capital providers are essential retail, like grocery and drug, or properties with credit tenants with long-term leases."

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Kelsi Maree Borland

Kelsi Maree Borland is a freelance journalist and magazine writer based in Los Angeles, California. For more than 5 years, she has extensively reported on the commercial real estate industry, covering major deals across all commercial asset classes, investment strategy and capital markets trends, market commentary, economic trends and new technologies disrupting and revolutionizing the industry. Her work appears daily on GlobeSt.com and regularly in Real Estate Forum Magazine. As a magazine writer, she covers lifestyle and travel trends. Her work has appeared in Angeleno, Los Angeles Magazine, Travel and Leisure and more.