NorthMarq's Craig Butchenhart

PHILADELPHIA-Today marks the annual ULI Philadelphia Urban Marketplace meeting here. One of the attendees is R. Craig Butchenhart, president of NorthMarq Capital, who is based in its local office here. Throughout the recession NorthMarq continues to do some relatively steady business and Butchenhart reports that the firm’s pipeline in April for current deals or agreements in the making are the highest volume it has experienced since 2008. In addition, NorthMarq is trying to beef up its investment sales presence around the country, looking to expand outside of the Washington, DC and Minneapolis areas into Dallas, Southern California and other major locales. Butchenhart sat down with GlobeSt.com to discuss the state of the market in Philly and the country overall. It’s not all bad news.

GlobeSt.com: You’re a national company, but since your office is here, do you have a perspective on the local market?

Butchenhart: The Philadelphia Metro area is performing reasonably well in comparison to other areas of the country. It’s never been a big boom or bust market. I always compare Philadelphia to more of a bond than a stock. It’s a steady performer, but if you’re looking for big hits, you probably won’t invest in Philadelphia.