Real Estate Roundtable President and CEO Jeffrey DeBoer will testify next week before the House Oversight Subcommittee on Health Care and Financial Services about the “Health of the Commercial Real Estate Markets and Removing Regulatory Hurdles to Ensure Continued Strength.” (Watch hearing here at 2pm EST on Tuesday, April 30 | Update: Written testimony here)

CRE Market Conditions & Solutions

• Subcommittee Chairwoman Lisa McClain (R-MI), commented on April 23 that the hearing will explore solutions to strengthen businesses that continue to struggle from the impact of pandemic-related government policies. She stated, “These businesses – including medical centers, warehouses, and offices – are crucial to our local economies and communities.” (McClain news release)

• House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY)—the lead sponsor of the House-passed Stopping Home Office Work’s Unproductive Problems (SHOW UP) Act (H.R. 139)—said it is urgent that federal employees return to their offices. (Roundtable Weekly, Feb. 3, 2023 and Comer news release)

• DeBoer’s testimony will recommend a range of policy actions that lawmakers and regulators should enact to strengthen CRE markets and encourage overall economic growth. The testimony will be available via the RER website and posted on the subcommittee website.

• The other hearing witness will be Jeffrey Weidell (CEO, NorthMarq), chairman of the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Commercial Real Estate/Multifamily Finance Board of Governors. (MBA news release, Oct. 15, 2023)

• MBA released a report on April 23 that details recent levels of commercial real estate mortgage borrowing and lending. The 2023 Commercial Real Estate/Multifamily Finance Annual Origination Volume Summation estimates that $429 billion of CRE mortgage borrowing and lending transpired last year. That total represents a 47% decrease from $816 billion in 2022, and a 52% decrease from the record $891 billion in 2021. (Report order information, MBA)

The Roundtable’s all-member June 20-21 Annual Meeting will include a Joint Research Committee and Real Estate Capital Policy Advisory Committee Meeting to drill down on specific CRE capital and credit market trends and issues.

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