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Demand for commercial mortgages has remained relatively unchanged over the past year despite intensifying global uncertainty, CBRE research shows.
Appetite for new loans over the next three months has increased, in spite of the cost of debt remaining at elevated levels, according to commercial real estate services and investment company CBRE.
CBRE Research’s H1 2024 Lender Sentiment Survey, which surveyed 34 commercial real estate lenders in April 2025, found that 56 per cent of lenders wanted to grow their commercial real estate exposures and no surveyed lenders intended to decrease their book.
It showed investment preference continued to be dominated by the industrial and logistics sector, followed by residential property (build-to-rent ranked third after experiencing a slight uptick in interest from the second half of 2024).
Nearly a quarter of lenders ranked student accommodation as a top two preference, while lenders continued to display caution towards office real estate.
Meanwhile, the preference for data centres has declined from the highs seen in the second half of 2024, falling from third to fifth preference.
Asset type and location ranked among the top three factors influencing lender appetite for refinancing, according to CBRE Research, as the commercial real estate market continues to diverge across all sectors nationwide.
Considering the interest rate environment, more than half of the surveyed lenders expect two additional rate cuts over the remainder of 2025; however, there was no majority viewpoint on the cash rate for June 2026.
Commenting on the research, CBRE’s managing director of debt and structured finance, Andrew McCasker, said: “The domestic banks sit on strong balance sheets and there has been a significant amount of capital raised in the private credit sector.
“This is underpinning competitive tension and strong appetite for lending to quality assets and sponsors.”
CBRE debt and structure finance director, Will Edwards, said: “Amid caution in the office sector, we are seeing lenders take a considered approach to the sector reflective of flight to quality in the asset class.”
[Related: New home lending grows annually, investment loans near record]
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