Better Days Lie Ahead -

on May 3, 2016

The U.S. economy and property markets are starting to fire up again now that the early-year financial market volatility has diminished. The volatility was a contributing factor to the slowdown in U.S. investment sales in the first quarter of 2016 (down 20 percent from a year ago) as well as leasing activity for most product types. However, through this entire period of heightened uncertainty, U.S. job growth continued to boom—a consistent reminder that the core drivers of the U.S. economy remain healthy.

The core drivers of the U.S. economic expansion are intact and commercial real estate fundamentals are strong.

Volatility has receded, U.S. GDP growth will accelerate from here
Low oil prices, rising wages, job security – confident consumers will power growth
Jobs will continue to grow but at a decelerating rate as the cycle matures
Vacancy will continue to tighten across most product types as construction still lags
Capital markets sales activity will surge, but returns will decelerate