The commercial real estate sector is expected to continue its slow and uneven recovery based on data from the first six months of the year, Fitch Ratings said in its latest U.S. Structured Finance Snapshot.
The office sector presents the CRE segment with its greatest challenge considering loans on office properties represented 47% of all commercial defaults during the first six months of 2012, Fitch managing director Huxley Somerville said in a new report.
“Office properties will likely continue to see net operating income declines unless the property is in a core market such as New York,” said Somerville. “Multifamily and hotels, in contrast, will likely see average net operating income close in on historic peaks as 2012 comes to a close,” Somerville added.
While office properties remain the most at-risk segment, drops in consumer spending are also making retail properties a spot to watch, according to Fitch.
“This has been especially true with respect to new deals where retail loans have been making up a large proportion of the newly securitized collateral,” said Somerville.
