Retail builders feel credit pinch [Central Florida]
The credit crunch triggered by subprime home mortgages gone bad has spilled into the retail shopping center industry.
The word of tighter lending restrictions spread Monday among 5,500 retailers and developers gathered at the International Council of Shopping Centers’ annual Florida Dealmaking Conference in Orlando.
The news came after the Federal Reserve injected $38-billion into the banking system Friday and an additional $2-billion Monday and the slumping stock market undermined the value and borrowing power of many public real estate investment trusts.
“The fundamentals of our industry remain strong, but we are headed for more turbulence until this all shakes out,” said Michael Kercheval, chief executive of ICSC, the trade group of the retail real estate industry. “This may go on for weeks, months or even years.”