The economy is springing back from pandemic-fueled downturn that marked 2020. At the GlobeSt.com Multifamily conference earlier this year, Richard Barkham, global chief economist and head of Americas research at CBRE, gave an economic forecast for the multifamily market, starting with a macro view. He had a optimistic outlook for the economy, although he did not temper expectations for the current expansion.

Specifically, the current CBRE research forecasts 6% GDP growth this year and next year, with a more mild expectation of 4% GDP growth in 2023. While this is still strong growth expectation, Barkham notes that they are below the firm's forecast at the beginning of the year, which pegged closer to 7% growth this year.

In addition, any impact from the Delta surge is officially over. The economic-related fallout from the third wave earlier this year mainly occurred in the South, but even there, it had minimal impact on the economy. There was a minor flattening in growth, but segments of the market, like air travel and food and beverage purchases continued to grow.