Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Starwood Likes TALF Prospects

Barry Sternlicht,Chairman and CEO of Starwood Capital,says he thinks everyone's pretty optimistic about Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securities,or CMBS,in the TALF program.I think we're closer to the bottom of the residential side,Mr.Sternlicht observed,so now we can focus on the commercial side.The commercial real estate market is gonna lag the economy.Companies are gonna have to be confident before they get back in.This recovery is gonna be longer,deeper and broader than the Resolution Trust Corporation cycle of the 1980s.There still isn't any debt,Mr.Sternlicht noted,though TALF will encourage some lending.
When we buy land,we're doing it unleveraged,Mr.Sternlicht revealed.We're buying debt in property.There's one in Las Vegas we're looking at,and something in Brazil right now.You've got to be patient.The bid-ask spreads are huge,Mr.Sternlicht feels.

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