Source: Connect CRE —
Citing a quote often attributed to Yogi Berra (who once denied ever saying it), Cushman & Wakefield’s Jennifer Edwards begins a look into the coming year by writing, “It’s déjà vu all over again.” The new year is beginning with “more uncertainty across the United States and the world.”
In view of this unsettled macroeconomic climate, Edwards discusses 10 critical questions the firm is asking. “It may be some time before we know the answers, but no doubt they will shape the economy and the real estate industry over the next several quarters,” writes Edwards, senior content manager, global research at Cushman & Wakefield.
Will labor markets cool off? “Keep an eye on the quit rate,” measuring how many workers are quitting their jobs for new ones. It’s currently at a near record high. “That needs to continue to decline to take pressure off the Fed.”
How will the debt markets respond in 2023 and beyond? Watch for interest rates to level off and macroeconomic uncertainty to fade, leading to a cooling off in financial market volatility. That in turn will bring liquidity back to commercial real estate debt markets.
