Books/Learning about CMBS

What are some online resources which can teach me more about the CMBS market. It is sort of a niche market in terms of real estate finance and I'd like to learn more about it. Anything out there?

 

...Also, I'm planning on getting the Breaking into Wall Street real estate modeling course but do not know if it contains any CMBS material. If there is any type of program similar to "BIWS" or "Real Estate Financial Modeling" which involve the CAPITAL MARKETS, please let me know.

I have an interview with a CMBS shop pretty soon and understand the acquisitions side of real estate(I used to be an investment sales broker) but haven't dealt at all with CMBS-level lending. I have a strong passion for real estate and are good with numbers, so I'm planning on studying as much as i can about the industry. Any help will be appreciated.

 

I've spent a lot of time online and in university libraries on this recently. These are the best books:

  1. Investing in Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securites (Fabozzi 2001, overall my favorite book but old)
  2. The Handbook of Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securities (Fabozzi 1998, second most favorite and detailed but old)
  3. The Handbook of Mortgage-Backed Securities (Fabozzi 2005, newer and decent section on CMBS)
  4. Mortgage-Backed Securities: Products, Structuring, and Analytical Techniques (Fabozzi 2011, most recent but not as much on CMBS)
  5. Modeling Structured Finance Cash Flows with Excel (Allman 2007, great step-by-step Excel modeling book- get the cd, RMBS but transferable to CMBS)
  6. Reverse Engineering Deals on Wall Street with Microsoft Excel (Allman 2008, RMBS but very transferable to CMBS)

Hopefully this will save some people some time, as I skimmed through 30-40 books at various university libraries before I came up with this list.

 

The e-primer by CREFC is an in-depth 8 chapter read and is very well written. If you can absorb the content, it should be everything you need to get a good understanding of CMBS. You need to register with the website to gain access but totally worth it.

 
thundercat3307:
The e-primer by CREFC is an in-depth 8 chapter read and is very well written. If you can absorb the content, it should be everything you need to get a good understanding of CMBS. You need to register with the website to gain access but totally worth it.
Much appreciated - will be sure to give it a read.
 

I was just about to come in and recommend the CREF literature. It is free on their website you just need to make an account. The free one is old through (pre recession) so it is certainly missing key points but is still a good overview of how the instrument works. They just released a month or so ago an updated 2013 one which you have to pay a couple hundred bucks for.

 

max_fischer's list is solid. In addition to the CREFC primer, I'd also add the Amherst primer. Long but worth the read. All of these materials will give you a general understanding but that's about it. If you have contacts at BB, reach out and ask for some of their primers and research. CS, Citi, BAML, WF and MS all have decent research. I personally like CS, they have a great CMBS desk and research team. Trepp also puts out a newsletter which I believe is free. Worth subscribing since it discusses both the market (trading activity), fundamentals and news on underlying collateral. You can also check out CREDirect.

It also depends on what you're interested in learning. CMBS in general, or trading, analysis, agency v non-agency,etc. If you aren't very familiar with CRE in general, I'd start there. In my experience, having a solid foundation in CRE makes learning the structured finance aspect much easier. Not necessary but I don't know very many people in the CMBS space that aren't competent in CRE.

I have some CMBS materials, models, etc that I've put together for training purposes over the years. PM me personal email if interested.

 

Salomon's Guide to Mortgaged Backed Securities is the best mortgage book I have ever read in terms of depth and clarity.

"Greed, in all of its forms; greed for life, for money, for love, for knowledge has marked the upward surge of mankind. And greed, you mark my words, will not only save Teldar Paper, but that other malfunctioning corporation called the USA."
 
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