Five years ago, no one wanted to make a decision because of the uncertainty with government regulations. But, Texas A&M Real Estate Center chief economist Mark Dotzour (here, speaking at a North Texas CCIM Chapter and CREW Dallas event Wednesday) says in the last two years, that uncertainty has morphed into certainty that the government won’t do anything. But, he’s good with that. “It’s why I’m bullish on business,” Mark says. Without the government mucking things up, businesses are hiring again. Some 43% of major corporations surveyed say they’re going to hire this year. Profits and revenues are up and Americans have money to spend. Mark says that’s all good news.

Here’s McTaggart & Beasley’s Paula Beasley, Furstenwerth + Bagley Design’s Debbie Bagley, Butler Burgher Group’s Liz Allen-Knight, Paula Nelson (who’s networking for a new gig), Parkland’s Clarissa Easton, Bisnow business manager Karen Pierre and RER Solutions’ Kaye McCallum. Mark says he remains bullish on the Texas economy even with the oil concerns caused by OPEC’s abundant release of oil, driving down prices globally. He says he doesn’t need reality TV for excitement this year, he’ll be reading the Wall Street Journal and anxiously watching oil-producing countries to see how they’ll react to the lower oil prices.