Blackstone and GE Deal

Last week, a Blackstone fund purchased 82 suburban office properties from Duke Realty for $1.08 billion.  This supports recent reports that the demand for commercial real estate is spreading from major, downtown metropolitan locations to suburban and smaller metropolitan areas.  The Duke Realty properties were located in the South and Midwest.  GE Capital is providing finance on the transaction to the tune or $800 million, or 80%.  An 80% loan-to-value is the highest I have seen since the Credit Crisis, without the use of a bridge loan or other forms of junior debt.  This signifies lenders' acknowledgement of a widening real estate recovery.  According to the Bloomberg article linked to above, GE will initially keep the loan on its balance sheet, but may syndicate it in the future.