5 OBSERVATIONS FROM THE 20TH ANNUAL WESTERN STATES CREF CONFERENCE

The California Mortgage Bankers Association’s Western States CREF Conference took place over September 6th through 8th 2017 at the Wynn Las Vegas in Las Vegas, Nevada, and celebrated the 20^th anniversary of the event that was founded by the late Barry Slatt (founder of Barry Slatt Mortgage). The following are the primary takeaways from the event by our attendees:

1. The conference was well attended and spirits were high, with approximately 900 people in attendance for the 2017 conference. The common sentiment was the real estate and lending markets are strong. Lenders as a whole seem to be expanding and are looking to repeat or increase total loan production in 2018.
2. Lenders see that the National economy is strong. Most lenders are experiencing historically low delinquency rates in their portfolios. They are also witnessing continued optimism that most major real estate markets in the U.S. are healthy. Most lenders are looking to continue expansions of their lending programs.
3. There is a high level of optimism from the primary lender types. Life companies, CMBS lenders, banks, agency lenders, and funds are all optimistic and actively looking for good loans to fund.
4. All lending categories expressed their preference to work through a qualified intermediary (i.e. full service commercial mortgage bankers).
5. Lending velocity is up for the year 2017 and most industry experts are expecting increased volumes in 2018.