Pressures in the regional , the continued fall in office prices in the US and increased interest rates have caused fund managers to resume betting on falling stakes in one of their favorite sectors: trades . Equinix Inc. collapsed at the lowest level since January yesterday (20.3.2024), after Hindenburg Research said it is betting against the company’s shares. Investors have been upset in recent weeks by banks such as New York Community Bancorp. and Deutsche Pfandbriefbank AG, which predict greater losses from real estate loans. The continued vulnerability to the office sector prompted the values of these properties to retreat by 15.2% a year to February in the US, according to a report by MSCI Real Assets published on Wednesday. “Investors are finally waking up to the fact that interest rates will not return anywhere near zero and the office sector has changed forever,” said Daniel McNamara, founder of Polpo Capital Management, who shorts the sector. Short sellers borrow shares and sell them, betting they can win by buying them later at a lower price. Nearly 13% of NYCB’s shares are currently open, from 3% in November, according to S&P Global. One of the reasons is that the bank is a major player in New York apartment complexes with controlled or stabilised rents, whose value has dropped rapidly. The founder of Muddy Waters, Carson Block, said on Bloomberg’s television that concerns about emerging difficulties in the apartment building are a reason his company has become “more negative” for Blackstone Mortgage Trust since revealing its negative position in the bank in December, adding that it could also have an impact on smaller banking organizations.
Short sellers bet again against commercial real estate
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