Over 500 packed in this week at the JW Marriott in Washington, DC, for Bisnow's second annual two-day Bisnow Multifamily Annual Conference, or BMAC. Keynote Kevin Hassett of the American Enterprise Institute (also an adviser to the Bush, McCain, and Romney campaigns) reports that the US is recovering from the recession faster than expected, with real estate prices (residential and commercial) ticking up, increased lending from banks, and other bright spots like higher car sales typical of the "boomtimes of the past."

Fortune editor and bestselling author Leigh Gallagher reports that suburbs are changing dramatically, as developers realize the demand for livelier urban communities outside a city core. (You can take the girl out of the city... but don't make it look that way.) Leigh, who just covered the topic in her book, The End of the Suburbs, says since the American Dream isn't just about owning a suburban home any more, developers have responded by creating urban-like communities in traditional settings, with all the amenities and feel of cities.