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**Gantry’s Jeff Wilcox Sees Banks Returning to CRE Lending**
At the upcoming Connect Apartments 2025 event in Los Angeles, industry professionals will have the opportunity to gain key insights from capital markets experts during the “Multifamily Finance in Focus: Debt, Equity, and the Road Ahead” panel discussion. Ahead of the event, Connect CRE spoke with Jeff Wilcox, Principal at Gantry and a featured panelist, to discuss what trends he is observing in today’s market.
**Q: Depending on the property type, obtaining capital can be a challenge in the current lending environment. Is multifamily the easiest sector to secure financing for, or does it face challenges as well?**
**Wilcox:** There is no doubt that multifamily continues to attract the most capital among all real estate asset classes. This makes financing somewhat more accessible compared to other sectors. However, that does not mean the process is easy. Lenders remain cautious in their underwriting strategies due to a combination of softening rents and rising operating costs. It remains a lender’s market, where lenders are setting the terms rather than borrowers having the leverage to negotiate between multiple sources.
**Q: Gantry works across various lending platforms. Are you seeing any notable changes in lending activity from specific sources in 2025 compared to previous years?**
**Wilcox:** 2025 has marked the return of banks to the lending market. Over the past few years, insurance companies, CMBS providers, debt funds, and the agencies were the dominant sources of capital, while banks took a step back to resolve issues within their portfolios. Now, with greater market stability, banks are reengaging—especially for high-quality assets with strong sponsorship. While underwriting standards remain prudent, this reentry is contributing valuable liquidity to support acquisitions and refinance efforts.
**Q: There’s a lot of talk about the decline in apartment development. Has this trend been evident in the types of financing inquiries you’re receiving?**
**Wilcox:** Apartment construction has indeed slowed significantly over the past three years. A combination of escalating construction costs, declining rents, rising expenses, and increasing cap rates has created a challenging environment for developers. The silver lining is that operating expenses appear to be stabilizing, and rents are trending upward. If construction costs level off, development should begin to pick up again—particularly in supply-constrained markets like California.
**Q: Gantry operates nationwide in addition to Southern California. Are you seeing an increase in capital demand in any specific regions outside SoCal?**
**Wilcox:** The San Francisco Bay Area is once again experiencing strong rent growth, which is leading to increased demand for capital. Utah continues to be a solid performer despite recent supply increases, and Seattle is making a healthy rebound. On the other hand, markets like Arizona, Texas, Nevada, and certain parts of the southern U.S. have faced negative rent growth. These markets are cooling down after booming in 2022 and 2023, and we anticipate a period of softness as they digest current inventory and adjust to new economic realities.
Jeff Wilcox’s insights make it clear that while the multifamily sector retains strong interest from lenders, the landscape remains nuanced and highly dependent on both asset quality and geographic location. The return of banks to the lending table is a positive development—and one that could help bolster liquidity and transaction flow in 2025.
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