FLORHAM PARK, NJ—The economy remains relatively stable overall, despite hurricanes battering the Texas coast, the change of administration and regulatory environment in Washington, say panelists on the “State of the Industry: An Outlook of New Jersey's CRE & Capital Markets” panel at this year's RealShare New Jersey conference, held Tuesday in Florham Park, NJ. Brian Whitmer, executive director, Cushman & Wakefield, moderated the panel.
“Commercial real estate has benefited. It's somewhat the same report I could have given you four years ago, slow, steady, almost boring,” said Fred Schmidt, president and COO, Coldwell Banker Commercial. “But slow, steady, and boring is not a bad thing, so we're seeing a relatively good economy.”
The interest rate environment is “somewhat benign,” Schmidt says. “I've been predicting upward pressure on interest rates and cap rates for the past four years, one of these days I'm going to get it right,” he says. “I think it bodes well for the commercial real estate environment.”
Recommended For You
Want to continue reading?
Become a Free ALM Digital Reader.
Once you are an ALM Digital Member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking commercial real estate news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical coverage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
*May exclude premium content© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
Steve Lubetkin
Steve Lubetkin is the New Jersey and Philadelphia editor for GlobeSt.com. He is currently filling in covering Chicago and Midwest markets until a new permanent editor is named. He previously filled in covering Atlanta. Steve’s journalism background includes print and broadcast reporting for NJ news organizations. His audio and video work for GlobeSt.com has been honored by the Garden State Journalists Association, and he has also been recognized for video by the New Jersey Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. He has produced audio podcasts on CRE topics for the NAR Commercial Division and the CCIM Institute. Steve has also served (from August 2017 to March 2018) as national broadcast news correspondent for CEOReport.com, a news website focused on practical advice for senior executives in small- and medium-sized companies. Steve also reports on-camera and covers conferences for NJSpotlight.com, a public policy news coverage website focused on New Jersey government and industry; and for clients of StateBroadcastNews.com, a division of The Lubetkin Media Companies LLC. Steve has been the computer columnist for the Jewish Community Voice of Southern New Jersey, since 1996. Steve is co-author, with Toronto-based podcasting pioneer Donna Papacosta, of the book, The Business of Podcasting: How to Take Your Podcasting Passion from the Personal to the Professional. You can email Steve at [email protected].
