Commercial real estate finance firm Greystone has launched a new preferred Equity platform and joint-venture advisory and production group to help senior housing and other real estate project planners cross the finish line.

The newly launched platform, called Greystone Equity, “utilizes the firm’s balance sheet” and “existing market relations” to provide equity and preferred equity for clients, according to a press release. It was created with the intention of helping borrowers complete their capital requirements for new projects amid high interest rates and other conditions that have made lending tougher in 2023.

Though it is primarily geared toward multifamily loan borrowers, the platform includes 55+ and other senior housing properties, and multiple deals have already been completed using preferred equity, according to Greystone. The company intends for borrowers to couple financing with Greystone’s other agency or bridge financing solutions.

The targeted amount for the equity size will range from $2 million to $10 million behind an agency loan, such as those provided by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Greystone noted.

The new platform is headed by Matthew Zisler, a senior managing director who has more than 20 years of experience in commercial real estate acquisitions, capital raising, equity investments and structured financing, according to Greystone.

“Our primary goal is to address and solve for borrowers’ pain points with their capital needs, and the growing amount of equity needed to close is a common concern in today’s market,” Zisler said in the release.

The platform launch comes amid hurdles to netting debt financing, which has slowed the number of M&As happening throughout the year.

Among the top reasons cited is the continued increase of interest rates from the Federal Reserve, which while slowing, is still above where the agency would like to see it. Additionally, buyers have become more selective over the year, which has also led to a general slowdown in transactions, with Senior Living Investment Brokerage stating there were an average of one or two buyers per transaction in Q2 this year.

The market is still in the process of recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic, where the number of transactions had been on the rise before it occurred.

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