Crunch time time lies ahead for Germany's CMBS market, with a wave of maturities due next year, according to Tuuli Krane, an associate director of Fitch Ratings in Germany.

Crunch time time lies ahead for Germany's CMBS market, with a wave of maturities due next year, according to Tuuli Krane, an associate director of Fitch Ratings in Germany.

Speaking at Expo Real during a panel session entitled 'Talking real estate: finance', she said that Europe's second-biggest CMBS market is facing some serious challenges. According to Krane, just 42.7% of Germany's EUR 30 bn CMBS market is performing, with many loans due to mature in 2013.

'Refinancing can be hard to get, which creates a danger of too many fire sales if the expected maturity date passes and the new extension date is too close. Also, if the value of the underlying properties has dropped significantly, that creates additIonal problems,' she said.

Typical German CMBS LTVS are around 89%, which can further dampen refinancing efforts, Krane said.