Connect Money: Rate Impact on Real Estate Lending Strategies - Q&A with Parkview’s Paul Rahimian

By Joe Palmisano | Connect Money | April 2, 2025

Rising interest rates and a high volume of maturing debt are creating refinancing challenges for commercial real estate borrowers. Some owners may have to surrender properties, while others will raise new capital to refinance existing debt.

Paul Rahimian, Founder and CEO of Parkview Financial, shared his insights on how this environment is shaping real estate lending strategies:

• Market clarity: With hopes for lower rates fading, borrowers must make decisive moves. Troubled assets will either be sold at market prices or revert to lenders, creating a reset for the commercial real estate cycle.

• Opportunities for private lenders: Elevated rates and limited bank lending allow firms like Parkview to provide bridge financing for new owners, supporting asset acquisition at lower basis and facilitating the start of a new cycle.

• Refinancing challenges: Borrowers with high leverage or limited equity options may struggle. Rising defaults are creating opportunities for private lenders to step in with creative solutions.

• Multifamily strength: Multifamily assets remain resilient despite localized rent declines, with attractive valuations and steady demand. Parkview is focusing on originating primarily multifamily loans in the current market.

• Outlook: Increased transaction activity is expected as owners make difficult decisions, leading to more loan and asset trading. Private lenders are positioned to support the market through bridge and rescue capital.

This Q&A highlights how strategic lending and capital deployment are evolving in response to elevated rates and maturing debt, emphasizing the role of private lenders like Parkview in today’s real estate market.

The full Q&A with Paul Rahimian, originally published by Connect Money, is available here