2019 Forecast Issue Real estate.

Byline: Martin Daks

Even before political and trade conflicts recently erupted, real estate developers across New Jersey and elsewhere werefacing a host of opportunities and challenges going into 2019.Now, in addition toconfronting the specter of increasing interest rates, a possible economic slowdown, andchanges in the way that people work, they've got short-term concerns like the fallout of possible gridlock in Washington, D.C. How will they respond? Developers have to look years ahead, so a laser-like focus on long-term trends helps, according to experts.Even before political and trade conflicts recently erupted, real estate developers across New Jersey and elsewhere were facing a host of opportunities and challenges going into 2019. Now, in addition to confronting the specter of increasing interest rates, a possible economic slowdown, and changes in the way that people work, they've got short-term concerns like the fallout of possible gridlock in Washington, D.C. How will they respond? Developers have to look years ahead, so a laser-like focus on long-term trends helps, according to experts.New Jersey is well poised to capitalize on the recent upturn in office activity, continued demand from ecommerce and traditional industrial users, and the strength of the capital markets sector. New Jersey's commercial real estate industry will also benefit from robust fundamentals across product and transaction types throughout the new year, all driven by the state's diverse and evolving industry mix.

While the rate of growth may not be as robust as 2018, we are anticipating stable growth in 2019. That said, while unsettling headlines may cause concern, we view these as short-term bumps in the road.The fact remains that demand for modern, dynamic and supportive work environments will continue to drive the market in New Jersey throughout 2019 and beyond.We believe that the level of activity in the commercial real estate space in New Jersey will continue to increase and that demand for well-located Class A space will remain high, due to the market's strong fundamentals. While we recognize that the costs of construction materials and labor are on the rise, we don't see this as a major cause for concern actually, we welcome a bit of market inflation. We expect that interest rates and unemployment rates, as well as the state's ability to have a sound financial plan in place with regard to tax rates, will be the most influential factors impacting the...