Just two years ago, Starwood Property Trust told its shareholders about its first foreclosure on a loan that was net leased to a single grocery tenant that filed for bankruptcy. The 440,000-square-foot distribution center had a loan balance of $17 million, CFO Rina Paniry reminded shareholders on a more recent call for the first quarter of 2021. "Over the past two years, we leveraged the Starwood platform to release and market the property, Paniry said. The property was sold this quarter for $31 million, "a very successful outcome for our shareholders."

A pandemic intervened in the middle of that process, of course, and grocery stores in general have proven to be resilient to the worst of economic trends. Nevertheless, Paniry's news speaks volumes about lending in general for commercial real estate these days: times are good even as we battle the (hopefully) last vestiges of Covid-19. And by extension, funding is abundant, coming from both established players and new entrants alike.

Starwood Property Trust, for example, originated $2.2 billion across 12 loans for an average loan size of $184 million for the quarter. These were offset by $1.1 billion in loan repayments, bringing its commercial lending portfolio to a record $11.2 billion at quarter end, according to Paniry.