THE DEVELOPMENT OF COMMERCIAL MORTGAGE-BACKED SECURITIES IN AUSTRALIA

The paper explores the development of the Australian Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securities (CMBS) market from 1999 to 2006 and outlines similarities and dissimilarities with the United States (US) and European (EU) CMBS markets. Whilst the US has been the market leader in terms of issuance volumes and diversity of asset classes backing the issues, the other two regions have not lagged far behind and have replicated the US CMBS model to suit their local needs. In comparison to the much bigger US and EU CMBS markets, the Australian CMBS market is well matured as seen by the diversity of asset classes backing the issues and transaction types, tightening spreads and record issuance volumes. The strong commercial real estate market outlook supports further CMBS issuance, with Listed Property Trusts (LPTs) continuing their dominance as issuers.