Commercial Real Estate Direct Staff Report

CMBS spreads continued to widen this week as investors were barraged with new issues.

Investors had to digest 10 CMBS deals, including two large agency deals, totaling $10 billion during the month. That's up from $9.8 billion in January and the $3.7 billion monthly average of last year. Meanwhile, another five transactions totaling $4.2 billion are in the market and should price within the next few days.

"The market needs a breather," noted one market player. "There's just way too much issuance looking to get done before the quarter ends." Up to another $5 billion of deals could...