This past year has been unique as they all have been over my now 43 years in the business. We faced a financial market that saw rates rise and capital from most traditional sources shut off. Our clients, borrowers who wished to transact in the real estate markets were challenged by the high cost of capital and the limited options available to them for financing. This dynamic drove clients to us in record numbers. We made a conscious decision to prioritize capital commitments to existing borrowers. All of our private lending colleagues and competitors are seeing the same.  We can see the end of 2023 and the start to 2024 as a great opportunity to pick through the pile of deals that come to us searching for the best. Of course, the rate environment has required that we raise rates. At first, we saw a lot of resistance to the increases and were somewhat cautious about doing so. By the third quarter that changed and we are able now to keep the investor base happy and growing while finding good deals to fund. I am impressed and relieved that we did have a good number of payoffs this year and in particular these past few months demonstrating there is a market out there that is transacting and functioning at a level that appears to be “renormalizing”.

We follow this up with a ‘GMC By the Numbers’ update for Q4:

• 100+ years of combined underwriting and investor relations experience.
• In the last 10 years: Over $476 million of total production in 334 loans from 2013-2022.
• In 2023: Over $52 million funded in more than 34 loans to date.
• Multifamily: Over $117 million funded since 2008.
• Retail: Over $87 million funded since 2008.
• 7 dedicated staff for production, closing, and servicing.
• Missed closings: 0 is always the goal.

Please keep Graham Mortgage in mind for bridge loans, small construction / development loans, and single tenant credit lease construction financing.