Terming the recently ended economic slump "one of the nicest downturns ever," Linneman said that unemployment figures are skewed based on whom you survey--individuals or businesses. Outsourcing firms may claim fewer employers, but those outsourced workers are still getting their paychecks. He noted that both types of surveys tracked roughly two million job losses from December of 2000 through April of 2002. But for three months after that, while payroll numbers continued to fall, the number of employed household members actually started to rise.

Taking a more focused view than the general economic picture, Joe Genovesi of Manhattan's NAI DG Hart, presented a somewhat optimistic outlook for the local real estate market. Building owners are "still offering generous concessions," he stated, and the market will not enjoy serious tightening until the latter half of 2004.

But already some signs of positive movement are in evidence. He noted that the Manhattan office market hit its 10.7% vacancy peak midyear '03 and then enjoyed two consecutive quarters of positive net absorption.