| Nearly 500 joined us yesterday for Day 1 of our national Bisnow Multifamily Annual Conference at the JW Marriott in DC. Despite rampant investor optimism, our early speakers echoed one concern about the apartment sector: uncertainty. Former CBO director and McCain advisor Doug Holtz-Eakin, the first of two keynotes, warned that uncertainty over the looming fiscal cliff and debt crisis could cause market turmoil reminiscent of the dark ages of 2008. And if leaders on the Hill don't act soon, they may not get another chance for a while. |
| Our second keynote, Delta Associates CEO Greg Leisch, stressed that the apartment sector is actually a beneficiary of current market conditions: uncertainty is causing people to rent rather than own and, as a result, apartments represent a better investment than any other CRE asset class, or even stocks and bonds. And things could be looking even better: According to Greg, the nationwide apartment vacancy rate of 4.8% could drop 20 bps in 2013, meaning a bump in rents that would keep multifamily a healthy investment for years to come. |
| Ever seen speed networking before? For any newbies (or veterans who are just curious), here's a video from yesterday, where 100 of the 500 BMAC attendees worked the room with two-minute rapid-fire schmooze sessions. |
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