Pssst! Have we told you about our Atlanta 2014 Forecast next week? We have? (Have you gotten your quickly dwindling tickets here?) Okay. Well, then we have another of our panelists, North American Properties' Mark Toro, to give us a forecast of his forecast: “We will see a continued thawing in virtually every sector,” Mark says. And the good news even spreads to multifamily where--with actual job growth in 2014--“we haven't seen the end of the rainbow.” Still, Mark is cautious of apartments beyond 2014.

Even with new retail development--namely Mark's own Avalon project in Alpharetta--it will be spotty at best in metro Atlanta this year. “As it relates to retail, we're all going to have to pick our spots.” Mark was quoted as saying “this may be it” at an April Bisnow event when reflecting on the economic recovery. Does he still hold to that view? Mark concedes the macroeconomic environment seems to be heading in the right direction. “Well, we're as busy as we've ever been. What happens next is anybody's guess.”