Hey, don't get me wrong. We should be happy that GDP is growing after what we have been through during the past couple of years. We certainly should take it as it is preferable to well below trend growth. The big questions are: Is this growth sustainable? and, How will the employment picture...

Last week, we witnessed Scott Brown's historic victory in Massachusetts as he captured a senate seat which had been held by Edward M. Kennedy for 46 years. Moreover, it hadn't been since 1972 that the state last elected a Republican senator. The people of the Bay State have spoken, but what did...

Last week, the president announced a new "Financial Crisis Responsibility Fee" (he didn't dare call it a tax!) to be paid by the largest banks in order to recover expected losses from the Troubled Asset Relief Program. Welcome to yet another chapter in the year-long crusade by legislators to...

And now, the conclusion of this three-part series: 7) Taxes. The tax landscape will have a huge impact on commercial real estate in 2010. Local, state and federal politicians have proven time and again that they simply do not have the will to reduce spending. "Fiscal responsibility" is...

Below is a continuation of last week's Part 1 of the 10 Things to Watch in 2010: 4) Gross Domestic Product. GDP is an important metric to watch to get a sense of how our economy is performing. In the third quarter of 2009, we saw GDP grow positively for the first time since the second quarter of...

I don't know anyone who will not be happy to see 2009 in the rear view mirror. To say it was a challenging year is an understatement. Before we take a look at what commercial real estate market participants should be watching in 2010, let's take a look back at some key events which took place in...

  What a wonderful time of year it is. Holiday season makes us think of many of the things that have become synonymous with Christmas and Hanukkah: holiday music, gift-giving, an exchange of greeting cards (emails today), church and synagogue celebrations, special meals, holiday cookies,...

The U.S. economic recovery is very important to the commercial real estate recovery. As the economy recovers, corporate revenues will grow and companies will make profits. These profits will allow hiring to resume and as unemployment shrinks, people who get good jobs will resume renting apartments, buying...