E321: The Debt Market Today - Andrew Westling

Continuing the conversation about the Market, Steven is joined by Andrew Westling of Walker Dunlop.  In this episode, they dive into the Walker Dunlop perspective of what is happening in the debt and equity market today.  If you have been feeling apprehensive about whether you should get back into the market now or later, then you are not going to want to miss this episode. 

Key Takeaways

1. When times are tumultuous, and there is volatility, it always means that there's opportunity. It's also a great time for first-time or less experienced investors to enter the marketplace.
2. Multifamily assets are still being bought and are being considered as an asset class that is less risky than the rest of the real estate industry.
3. There has not been much cap rate inflation as people are still buying multifamily and investing more equity as they are feeling it is safe.
4. With higher mortgage rates, the number of qualified renters continues to increase. 
5. Opportunities in smaller markets are there however it will require more capital to be brought in to convince lenders to take additional risk. 
6. There are fewer buyers out there right now so it's an opportunity for buyers to maybe get a little bit of a break compared to what has been seen, especially over the last three to five years.
7. The trade-off today is you might be able to get a slight discount on a property in a tier one market that's going to appreciate over the long term in exchange for giving up some of that cash flow short term.

About the Guest: 

Andrew N. Westling

Walker & Dunlop, Director – Capital Markets

Andrew Westling, Director, is responsible for new loan originations and closings for multifamily and commercial properties nationwide.  Mr. Westling is based out of Walker & Dunlop’s Los Angeles, California office.

Throughout his career, Mr. Westling has underwritten and closed more than $1.5 Billion in debt and equity financing for multifamily, industrial, retail, office, hotel, manufactured housing, and self-storage properties across the country.  Prior to joining Walker & Dunlop in 2016, Mr. Westling served as a Director for the George Elkins Mortgage Banking Company (GEMB) originating, underwriting, and closing commercial real estate loan transactions. Preceding GEMB, Mr. Westling served as a Vice President for the Private Bank at Union Bank.  Within the Private Bank, Mr. Westling’s responsibilities included originating and structuring custom credit solutions for his clients including commercial real estate financing, asset based lending, and cash flow secured credit facilities.

Mr. Westling earned his Bachelor of Science in business administration (BSBA) with a dual concentration in finance and accounting from the Questrom School of Business at Boston University.