Monday Market Moves | Week of February 2, 2026

Welcome to Monday Market Moves, the weekly series from Essex Capital Markets briefing you on Chicago commercial real estate capital markets. We cover key trends in CRE debt, refinancing, and capital structures to help investors and owners navigate today’s financing environment.

This Week: Chicago Deal Volume Showing Renewed Lending Activity

As Chicago’s commercial real estate market continues to adapt to higher-for-longer rates and evolving lender underwriting standards, local transaction activity toward the end of 2025 and into early 2026 points to renewed momentum in capital deployment. This trend is noteworthy given the caution that characterized much of 2023 and 2024 across the broader CRE debt landscape.

According to The Real Deal’s recent recap of the largest Chicago commercial real estate loans of 2025, several meaningful financings across multifamily, industrial, and diversified property types closed at locally relevant scales, even if they did not reach the record sizes seen in earlier cycles. While sponsors and lenders remain selective, the breadth of activity indicates that capital is moving again in the Chicagoland market, particularly in the mid-market where refinancing and recapitalization needs remain active.

At Essex Capital Markets, discussions over the past several weeks have increasingly focused on where this liquidity is reappearing and what conditions are driving lenders back into active engagement. Rather than isolated executions, we are seeing a pattern of closings supported by disciplined underwriting and thoughtful structuring.

What we’re seeing:

• Chicago’s top commercial real estate loans of 2025 included a range of mid-sized financings completed by local and regional lenders, signaling that lender engagement is expanding beyond the most conservative credit profiles. These transactions largely involved experienced sponsorship and strong in-place performance, reinforcing the importance of fundamentals.

• While overall deal sizes and leverage remain more conservative than prior peaks, the volume of mid-market activity suggests lenders are increasingly comfortable underwriting a broader set of assets, particularly stabilized multifamily, industrial logistics, and select mixed-use properties with clear cash flow and solid debt service coverage.

• Regional and community banks are showing greater willingness to engage on Chicago CRE refinances and new capital structures, especially where documentation clearly supports performance and credit quality. This points to expanding lender allocations at the local level for well-positioned borrowers.

• These developments align with the upcoming wave of loan maturities expected throughout 2026. As refinancing demand increases, early planning and lender outreach will be critical to capturing favorable execution as competition continues to return.

Conclusion

Chicago capital markets are showing early signs of renewed activity in both deal volume and lender participation. Underwriting discipline remains consistent, but recent closings indicate improving confidence among local lenders and capital providers.

For owners considering refinancing, recapitalizations, or broader capital planning in 2026, understanding where capital is allocating and how lenders are underwriting today can materially influence outcomes. Early engagement and a disciplined market process remain key to navigating the next phase of the cycle.

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