France Media 2027 Forecast Survey for Lenders

Welcome to Our Annual Forecast Survey

Dear Commercial Real Estate Lender or Financial Intermediary,

While the commercial real estate industry is enjoying strong performances in specialized sectors as 2026 draws to a close, elevated interest rates remain a threat to owners and developers amid a volatile debt-financing market. Among the positives, the retail real estate market is experiencing historically low vacancy rates due to strong tenant demand and constrained supply.

Affluent consumers are a major driver in this space even as inflation continues to strain household budgets. Meanwhile, the multifamily sector is stabilizing after a massive building boom led to oversupply.

In the industrial sector, tenant expansion has gained momentum, and absorption is now outpacing completions. The U.S. office market remains choppy. Prime office space is in demand among tenants and investors, but Class B and C office space is languishing.

Against that backdrop, we welcome your insights as part of our 16th annual survey.

(Note: Please remember to click on "done" to properly submit the survey.)

Sincerely,

Matt Valley
Editorial Director, Real Estate Regionals
France Media, Inc.

Question Title

1. In which region of the country do you personally conduct most of your business? (Answer required to allow France Media to place responses in the appropriate regional publication.) (Required.)

Southeast (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and Washington, D.C.)

Northeast (Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont)

Midwest (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin)

Western U.S. (Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming)

Texas and Oklahoma

Question Title

2. Which of the following best describes your company? (Please mark all that apply)

Agency Lender /(GSEs)

Community Bank

Regional Bank

National Commercial Bank

Life Insurance Company

Mezzanine Lender

Mortgage Broker, Financial Intermediary

Other (please specify)

Question Title

3. Check the box that best describes your job title:

President, Owner, Partner, Chairman of the Board, CEO

Chief Financial Officer, Chief Investment Officer

Real Estate Manager, Finance Manager, Other Manager Including General Manager

Banker, Investment Banker, Mortgage Banker/Broker, Portfolio Manager, Financial Investment Analyst

Other (please specify)

Question Title

4. Do you expect the total dollar amount of commercial and multifamily loans closed by your firm in 2027 to increase, decrease or remain the same compared with the level of activity in 2026?

Increase

Decrease

Stay the same

Question Title

5. If increase, by how much?

0% to 5%

6% to 10%

11% to 15%

16% to 20%

More than 20%

Question Title

6. If decrease, by how much?

0% to 5%

6% to 10%

11% to 15%

16% to 20%

More than 20%

Question Title

7. What property sector(s) do you believe provide the most attractive financing opportunities for lenders today? (Multiple answers permitted)

Hotel

Industrial

Multifamily

Office

Retail

Mixed-use

Other (please specify)

Question Title

8. What property sector(s) do you believe provide the least attractive financing opportunities for lenders today? (Multiple answers permitted)

Hotel

Industrial

Multifamily

Office

Retail

Mixed-use

Other (please specify)

Question Title

9. What is your projection for total domestic private-label CMBS issuance (excluding CRE CLOs and agency deals from Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae) in 2027?

Less than $100 billion

$100 billion to $109 billion

$110 billion to $119 billion

$120 billion to $129 billion

$130 billion to $139 billion

$140 billion to $149 billion

$150 billion to $159 billion

$160 billion to $169 billion

$170 billion and above

Uncertain

Question Title

10. What loan type will make up the bulk of lending activity at your firm in 2027?

Construction financing

Acquisition financing

Refinancing Activity

Other (please specify)

Question Title

11. Do you expect interest rates to increase, decrease or remain relatively unchanged during the next 12 months?

Increase

Decrease

Remain Relatively Unchanged

Uncertain

Question Title

12. What is your best guess as to where the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield will stand at the end of 2027?

6.5% or higher

6.0% to 6.5%

5.75% to 6.0%

5.5% to 5.75%

5.25% to 5.5%

5.0% to 5.25%

4.75% to 5.0%

4.5% to 4.75%

4.25% to 4.5%

4.0% to 4.25%

3.75% to 4.0%

3.5% to 3.75%

3.5% or lower

Uncertain

Question Title

13. Among the following property types, how do you think the volume of distressed properties in 2027 will compare to 2026?

	Increase significantly	Increase somewhat	Remain the same	Decrease somewhat	Decrease significantly	Uncertain
Industrial	Industrial Increase significantly	Industrial Increase somewhat	Industrial Remain the same	Industrial Decrease somewhat	Industrial Decrease significantly	Industrial Uncertain
Multifamily	Multifamily Increase significantly	Multifamily Increase somewhat	Multifamily Remain the same	Multifamily Decrease somewhat	Multifamily Decrease significantly	Multifamily Uncertain
Office	Office Increase significantly	Office Increase somewhat	Office Remain the same	Office Decrease somewhat	Office Decrease significantly	Office Uncertain
Retail	Retail Increase significantly	Retail Increase somewhat	Retail Remain the same	Retail Decrease somewhat	Retail Decrease significantly	Retail Uncertain

Question Title

14. Do the benefits of tariffs (protecting industries and jobs and increasing government revenue) outweigh the costs (higher consumer prices, potential retaliation from other countries, general uncertainty) from a commercial real estate perspective?

Benefits significantly outweigh costs

Benefits somewhat outweigh costs

Benefits and costs are about equal

Costs somewhat outweigh benefits

Costs significantly outweigh benefits

Uncertain

Question Title

15. How do you expect office utilization in your market to trend over the next 12–18 months?

Increase significantly

Increase moderately

Remain roughly the same

Decrease moderately

Decrease significantly

Too early to tell

Question Title

16. Which three factors do you think will pose the greatest risk to the commercial real estate industry in 2027? (Select up to three)

Interest rates

Inflation

GDP/job growth

Construction and materials costs

Energy prices

U.S. national debt

Geopolitical risk

U.S. political climate

Tariffs and trade policy

AI and technology disruption

Labor availability/talent recruitment

Other (please specify)

Question Title

17. What impact will the results of the midterm elections have, if any, on the commercial real estate sector in 2027? (Please type in your comments here and include your name, job title, company name, phone number and email address so that we may follow up with you for additional information and/or attribute quotes to you if we include your comment in the article. You can also leave an anonymous comment.)

Question Title

18. Data centers are the fastest-growing niche sector in commercial real estate. Do the pros (high yields and unprecedented demand) outweigh the cons (power and grid scarcity and massive capital expenditure requirements) in your view? Please explain. (Please type in your comments here and include your name, job title, company name, phone number and email address so that we may follow up with you for additional information and/or attribute quotes to you if we include your comment in the article. You can also leave an anonymous comment.)

Question Title

19. What do you see as the greatest opportunity and/or challenge for the commercial real estate industry in 2027? (Please type in your comments here and include your name, job title, company name, phone number and email address so that we may follow up with you for additional information and/or attribute quotes to you if we include your comment in the article. You can also leave an anonymous comment.)

Question Title

20. Can we reach out to you as a potential source for our follow-up analysis article of the survey results? (Required.)

Yes

Question Title

* 1. In which region of the country do you personally conduct most of your business? (Answer required to allow France Media to place responses in the appropriate regional publication.) (Required.)

Question Title

* 2. Which of the following best describes your company? (Please mark all that apply)

Question Title

* 3. Check the box that best describes your job title:

Question Title

* 4. Do you expect the total dollar amount of commercial and multifamily loans closed by your firm in 2027 to increase, decrease or remain the same compared with the level of activity in 2026?

Question Title

* 5. If increase, by how much?

Question Title

* 6. If decrease, by how much?

Question Title

* 7. What property sector(s) do you believe provide the most attractive financing opportunities for lenders today? (Multiple answers permitted)

Question Title

* 8. What property sector(s) do you believe provide the least attractive financing opportunities for lenders today? (Multiple answers permitted)

Question Title

* 9. What is your projection for total domestic private-label CMBS issuance (excluding CRE CLOs and agency deals from Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae) in 2027?

Question Title

* 10. What loan type will make up the bulk of lending activity at your firm in 2027?

Question Title

* 11. Do you expect interest rates to increase, decrease or remain relatively unchanged during the next 12 months?

Question Title

* 12. What is your best guess as to where the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield will stand at the end of 2027?

Question Title

* 13. Among the following property types, how do you think the volume of distressed properties in 2027 will compare to 2026?

Question Title

* 14. Do the benefits of tariffs (protecting industries and jobs and increasing government revenue) outweigh the costs (higher consumer prices, potential retaliation from other countries, general uncertainty) from a commercial real estate perspective?

Question Title

* 15. How do you expect office utilization in your market to trend over the next 12–18 months?

Question Title

* 16. Which three factors do you think will pose the greatest risk to the commercial real estate industry in 2027? (Select up to three)

Question Title

Question Title

Question Title

Question Title

* 20. Can we reach out to you as a potential source for our follow-up analysis article of the survey results? (Required.)

Question Title

* 21. If yes, please leave your name, job title, company name and email address in the below text box.

1. In which region of the country do you personally conduct most of your business? (Answer required to allow France Media to place responses in the appropriate regional publication.) (Required.)

2. Which of the following best describes your company? (Please mark all that apply)

3. Check the box that best describes your job title:

4. Do you expect the total dollar amount of commercial and multifamily loans closed by your firm in 2027 to increase, decrease or remain the same compared with the level of activity in 2026?

5. If increase, by how much?

6. If decrease, by how much?

7. What property sector(s) do you believe provide the most attractive financing opportunities for lenders today? (Multiple answers permitted)

8. What property sector(s) do you believe provide the least attractive financing opportunities for lenders today? (Multiple answers permitted)

9. What is your projection for total domestic private-label CMBS issuance (excluding CRE CLOs and agency deals from Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae) in 2027?

10. What loan type will make up the bulk of lending activity at your firm in 2027?

11. Do you expect interest rates to increase, decrease or remain relatively unchanged during the next 12 months?

12. What is your best guess as to where the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield will stand at the end of 2027?

13. Among the following property types, how do you think the volume of distressed properties in 2027 will compare to 2026?

14. Do the benefits of tariffs (protecting industries and jobs and increasing government revenue) outweigh the costs (higher consumer prices, potential retaliation from other countries, general uncertainty) from a commercial real estate perspective?

15. How do you expect office utilization in your market to trend over the next 12–18 months?

16. Which three factors do you think will pose the greatest risk to the commercial real estate industry in 2027? (Select up to three)

20. Can we reach out to you as a potential source for our follow-up analysis article of the survey results? (Required.)

21. If yes, please leave your name, job title, company name and email address in the below text box.