Bellwether

Bellwether was proud to serve as a judge at the inaugural SMU Cox Invitational Real Estate Challenge — congratulations to the SMU team on taking first place, and to all eight competing programs for bringing an impressive level of talent and rigor to a genuinely challenging case.

We are pleased to announce that Fitch Ratings has assigned a Commercial Special Servicer rating to Bellwether, based on our track record resolving defaulted CRE loans and strong credit asset management and surveillance practices. This milestone marks an important step in Bellwether's continued evolution to meet our Clients’ needs across all investment vehicles and structures. https://lnkd.in/gN4cBrax

Last week, Bellwether hosted its third annual Women in CRE networking event in Los Angeles, bringing together the student mentees from the Bellwether Women’s Mentorship Program and industry professionals from firms including Oaktree Capital Management, L.P., Eastdil Secured, CBRE, Clarion Partners LLC, PCCP, PGIM, and more. A special thank you to CBRE West LA for their generous support in helping coordinate the event.

Chart for Thought No. 35: Data Center Supply Growth * Data collected by Green Street shows that data center supply has been growing at an accelerated rate for over a decade. * Between 2013 and 2023 annual data center supply growth averaged 24.5%. The next fastest growing sector tracked by Green Street was self storage, which grew at an annual rate of 3.0%. For comparison, multifamily supply grew at an average annual rate of 1.9% over the same period. * After peaking at a year-over-year supply increase of 55% in 2024, the rate of supply growth slowed in 2025 and is expected to continue moderating through 2030. * However, because data center capacity has grown so rapidly, even a lower percentage increase now results in larger absolute additions. For example, the 26.7% increase in 2025 added more than twice as much capacity as the 35.6% increase recorded in 2022. * Despite, the rapid expansion in supply, strong demand has kept pace and resulted in a tight market for data center space. Green Street reports that occupancy rates have actually increased over the years to reach 94.3% at the end of 2025. Much of the new product is coming to market pre-leased. * Power constraints and rising construction costs are now limiting the pace of supply growth, even as demand remains. There were 241 GW of data center projects in the development pipeline at the end of 2025. That is equivalent to the entire generating capacity of Japan. Additionally, JLL estimated that the cost to construct 1MW of capacity has risen by a compound annual growth rate of 7% over the last five years - reaching $10.7 million in 2025. * Efficiency improvements are the clearest path toward finding balance between supply and demand for data centers today, given the physical limitations posed by power needs. In the meantime, demand is on track to outstrip supply and push forward further development in the face of rising costs and power constraints.  For more Bellwether Charts for Thought, click here: https://lnkd.in/g36wYRaz

Had an incredible time at MREFA’s first Bellwether office visit in El Segundo. We toured the office campus, gained an overview of Bellwether’s platform, and also had the opportunity to connect with Trojan alumni across the firm. Grateful to the Bellwether team for hosting us and for their continued support of the Trojan real estate community. Looking forward to building on this partnership and creating more opportunities like this for our members. #MREFA #USCMarshall #CommercialRealEstate #CRE #TrojanNetwork #Mentorship

Last Friday, the Bellwether Women's Mentorship Program hosted its first in-person event of the school year. The mentors and mentees had the opportunity to tour Hollywood 959, a state-of-the-art creative office campus in the heart of the Hollywood Media District. Attendees were able to walk through shell, second generation, and existing tenant spaces (including e.l.f. Beauty), and learn more about different office buildouts. The Bellwether Women's Mentorship Program connects local university students interested in pursuing careers in commercial real estate with women at Bellwether to provide mentorship and guidance in the field. Thank you to the property management team for leading our property tour and educating the mentees.

We’ll be at the CRE Finance Council Conference from 01/11/2026 – 01/13/2026 and look forward to reconnecting, or meeting for the first time. If you’ll be there, feel free to reach out and set something up. #CREFCMiami #CREFC #CRE #CommercialRealEstate #RealEstateFinance Greg Fink

Chart for Thought No. 34: Household Debt Delinquencies * Household spending is a significant driver of the U.S. economy, as it makes up approximately two thirds of U.S. GDP. Household debt delinquency rates are a key indicator in assessing the financial health of those households. * Data from the New York Federal Reserve Bank reports that the outstanding balance of 90+ day delinquencies of household debt increased substantially starting in 2025. * The elevated levels of delinquencies are due to increases across categories of household debt, however the resumption of student loan payments, and a jump in delinquent credit card balances are major contributors. * If the stress on household balance sheets is not remedied by higher incomes or lower prices, many families may be compelled to cut back on spending, creating potential headwinds for segments of the U.S. economy over time. For more Bellwether Charts for Thought, click here: https://lnkd.in/gXBsshS5

Happy holidays from all of us at Bellwether! Wishing you a wonderful season and a happy new year!