Dear Commercial Real Estate Lender or Financial Intermediary,

Heartland Real Estate Business is conducting a brief online survey to gauge market conditions throughout the region, and we welcome your participation. This survey should only take a few minutes to complete. Questions range from property sectors that your firm is most bullish on heading into 2015 to trends in deal volume to the outlook for interest rates.

We’re also sending separate surveys to brokers as well as owners/developers/managers in the Midwest. The results will be collated and published in our January issue. Conducting these surveys is part of our mission at France Media to provide readers with indispensable information.

Sincerely,

Matt Valley
Editorial Director
Heartland Real Estate Business

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

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

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* 3. Do you expect the total dollar amount of commercial and multifamily loans closed by your firm in the Midwest in 2015 to increase, decrease or remain the same?

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* 4. If increase, by how much?

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* 5. If decrease, by how much?

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* 6. To what extent will each of the following factors affect the debt financing market for commercial real estate during the next 12 months? (1 = No Impact, 5 = Strong Impact)

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Affordable Care Act (Obamacare)
Fate of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
State of the housing market
Health of U.S. economy
State of CMBS market
Financial regulation reform (Dodd-Frank)
Valuations for commercial real estate
Volume of distressed real estate
Creditworthiness of tenants
Cost of capital
Loan-to-value ratios
Debt-service coverage ratios
Geopolitical climate

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* 7. Are there any additional factors that may significantly affect the debt financing market? If so, please list them here.

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* 8. What property categories do you believe provide the most attractive investment opportunities for lenders in the Midwest today? (Multiple answers permitted)

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* 9. What property categories do you believe provide the least attractive investment opportunities for lenders in the Midwest today? (Multiple answers permitted)

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* 10. What is your projection for total domestic CMBS issuance in 2015?

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* 11. In percentage terms, please forecast the concentration of lending activity at your firm in the Midwest in 2015? (Percentages must add up to 100%)

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

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* 13. What is your best guess as to where the 10-year Treasury yield will stand at the end of 2015?

The following three questions request written responses. If you want to share your comments on the record, please include your name, job title, company name, phone number and email address. You can also feel free to leave an anonymous comment.

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* 14. What impact do you think the results of the mid-term elections will have on the commercial real estate industry over the next few years?

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* 15. What impact do you believe the implementation of the Affordable Care Act has had, or will have, on the commercial real estate industry?

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* 16. What do you see as the greatest challenge and greatest opportunity for the commercial real estate industry in 2015?

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