The extract is a quote.
I believe the overall market has already started to ease,''
Zell said in an interview in New York.
Since July, when demand dried up for mortgage bonds and
credit markets froze, lenders haven't issued any major
construction loans because they couldn't sell them on the
secondary market, Zell said. Now, with returns from Treasury bonds
below the rate of inflation, demand for mortgage securities is
beginning to revive, he said.
Insurance companies and pension funds need returns of at
least 6 percent to match their liabilities, Zell said. Investment
in commercial mortgage-backed securities is already beginning to
return for the first time since July, he said.
``Is it in large volumes? No,'' he said. ``Is it the first
natural step in the evolution? Yes.''
Ray
