CHICAGO—Growth in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) employment and the continuing recovery in the US housing market are already impacting commercial real estate as total sector volumes in the first three quarters of 2013 have hit $208.82 billion. That represents a 30% increase over the levels at the same time period in 2012. The growth in those areas is fueling greater occupancy and rent increases while boosting investor demand.

Meanwhile, as millennials—adults below 34 years old—become a larger component of the work force, that generation will dramatically impact the operations of the whole range of commercial real estate.

Those are some of the insights and conclusions contained in the new Jones Lang LaSalle Cross Sector Outlook, presented today at the Urban Land Institute's Fall Meeting here. The report takes a comprehensive look at how the housing recovery influences all types of commercial real estate; the ways in which the millennial generation will affect office workplace strategy, retail stores, hotels and apartments; institutional investment patterns; and the indirect impact of growing industries on local real estate.