IRVINE, Calif., April 05, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sabal Capital Partners, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Regions Bank and a nationwide commercial real estate lender, today announced the successful close of approximately $264 million in multifamily property loans during the period of January 1 through March 31 of this year. Totaling 80 loans for 80 properties across 21 states from coast-to-coast, the transactions include both acquisition and refinance loans, and represent transactions from three of the company’s many offered loan programs only. The bulk of the multifamily loans were financed through small balance Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac agency programs serving affordable and workforce rental properties, reflecting deep demand within the sector today amidst an ongoing home affordability crisis in the United States.
“Sabal continues to address borrower needs within the affordable and workforce housing sector and our Q1 pipeline reflects that,” says Ed Hussey, head of agency lending for Sabal Capital Partners. “These loans are important as they ensure that rental units across the country remain available to individuals and families who can’t afford market rate apartments near their places of employment.”
Current research indicates ten million low-income renter households routinely spend more than half, when ideally they should spend no more than 30%, of their income on rent. Additionally, the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour falls well short of both the two-bedroom and one-bedroom National Housing Wages. While 30 states, the District of Columbia, and numerous counties and municipalities now have minimum wages higher than the federal minimum wage, the average minimum wage worker must still work nearly 97 hours per week (almost two full-time jobs) to afford a one-bedroom rental home at fair market rate.i
27 of the 80 total loans were completed through Fannie Mae’s Multifamily Small Loan program, which provides loans up to $6 million for smaller rental properties that tend to be more affordable, are concentrated in urban areas close to transportation and jobs, and that provide housing for working families. 47 of the completed loans were financed through Freddie Mac’s Optigo® Small Balance Loans Program, which offers $1 million - $7.5 million loans nationwide for small apartment properties between 5 and 50 units and which serve the nation’s workforce.
The remaining six loans were closed via Sabal’s CMBS Conduit loan program, which provides non-recourse loans up to $50 million for core commercial real estate properties, including multifamily communities, located nationwide. All of the CMBS loans provided financed multifamily properties with the exception of one, which financed a self-storage asset. Of the 80 transactions, 18 financed acquisitions and 62 were refinance loans. The 80 loans do not include transaction activity for the remaining, combined Sabal Capital Partners and Regions Bank portfolio of loan programs. The company’s complete acquisition, refinance and construction solutions offering includes Fannie Mae DUS, Fannie Mae Affordable, Fannie Mae Small Loans, Freddie Mac Affordable, Freddie Mac Optigo® Small Balance Loans, Freddie Mac Optigo® Conventional, USDA, FHA/HUD (both MAP and LEAN), Bridge, Structured Adjustable Rate Mortgage Loans and CMBS Conduit programs.
The 2022 first quarter transaction closings follow the recent news of the Regions Bank acquisition of Sabal Capital Partners announced on December 2, 2021.
All of Sabal’s loan programs are accessible through SNAP, the proprietary online lending platform that enables unparalleled efficiencies and convenience for brokers and borrowers throughout the loan process, from application through servicing. Visit Sabal’s website.
About Sabal Capital Partners
Sabal Capital Partners, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Regions Bank, is a national commercial real estate lender that has originated nearly $6 billion in financing and maintains a $5 billion servicing portfolio. Sabal Capital Partners keeps brokers and borrowers ahead of the curve with comprehensive debt solutions encompassing both agency and non-agency options. The lender is recognized for advancing the industry with SNAP™, an innovative proprietary technology platform that optimizes origination and servicing and enhances the customer experience. Sabal Capital Partners is a nationally rated Commercial Primary Servicer and Commercial Special Servicer by Morningstar with a CS2 ranking, an S&P Global rated Commercial Mortgage Loan Special Servicer with an average ranking, as well as a Fitch rated CMBS Primary Servicer with a CPS2- ranking and CMBS Special Servicer with a CSS3+ ranking. For more details, visit Sabal’s website.
i National Low Income Housing Coalition, Out of Reach 2021: The High Cost of Housing, https://nlihc.org/sites/default/files/oor/2021/OOR_2021_Mini-Book.pdf
