How will recovery from the Great Recession likely play out over the coming year? Several industry experts shared their thoughts and forecasts for the general economy, real estate capital markets, and property supply-demand fundamentals. The consensus: Economic and employment growth might stall a bit but aren’t likely to recede. Plentiful equity will chase investment opportunities, as debt markets broaden collateral preferences. And already rising property values should continue upward, as rents and occupancies bottom out and slowly reverse course with recovering user demand.

During the recent “Great Recession,” the federal government has engaged in unprecedented manipulations of the economy in an attempt to prevent further economic collapse. In fact, I would give the most credit to the Federal Reserve for implementing 11 programs, including the TALF (Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility), that helped stabilize the markets by “lending into the panic” largely through their emergency powers. Following its significant efforts to rescue the money-center and investment banks, the government has been attempting to forestall a deluge of commercial real estate repossessions — as occurred in the aftermath of the savings and loan crisis of the 1980s.

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