A new real-estate-investment firm has launched in Seattle to capitalize on a consequential real-estate trend emerging in major U.S. markets: overleveraged real estate.
Seattle-based Keelbase Capital is targeting opportunities in the Seattle metro area — including the Eastside and the Bellevue Central Business District — with long-term plans to expand into other markets exhibiting similar economic fundamentals. The plan is to deploy $125-250 million in private credit over the next three years, while also pursuing $200-300 million in joint venture acquisitions, a press release said.
“We founded Keelbase Capital to meet the moment,” said Cooper Engst, Keelbase co-founder and principal, in a press statement.
Engst continued, “Property owners face a significant challenge today, with asset values that remain well below the peak and traditional lenders that can’t provide cash-neutral refinancing. We’re stepping into that void with flexible capital that will give owners a path forward, and deliver strong returns for our investors without taking last-dollar risk.”
Engst spent the past 20 years in institutional capital markets and commercial-real-estate development. Engst most recently served at Eastdil Secured, where he led their Pacific Northwest multifamily practice.
According to the firm, it’s looking to capitalize on a $105 billion opportunity in overleveraged real estate throughout the Seattle metro area, including multifamily properties, retail, industrial, and office assets.
“Seattle is one of the most dynamic and fundamentally sound real-estate markets in the country, but it’s also one of the most exposed to the reset now underway,” said Paul Roeter, co-founder and principal at Keelbase Capital, in the release.
Continued Roeter, “Values have dropped, owners are feeling pressure from lenders, and growing deal volume is finally providing pricing clarity. We see a generational opportunity to deploy capital, and we’re building Keelbase for the long run.”
Roeter has nearly two decades of experience in institutional real-estate capital markets, acquisitions, asset management, and construction, most recently co-leading the Pacific Northwest Equity, Debt, and Structured Finance practice at Cushman & Wakefield.