Whatever you might think of the US’s new president, many expected Donald Trump’s election to boost business and US growth in general.
CBRE’s head of research for the Americas, Spencer Levy, says uncertainty in the US market is linked to a lack of clarity around the latter.
It’s something he feels less positive about now than he did earlier this year. “The big question in the States now is all around growth and can we grow,” he says.
“I was more optimistic three months ago about that than I am today. The linchpin to being able to grow from the current 2% rate is the ability of the existing administration to pass stimulating fiscal policies, especially tax reform. So the reason why I am less optimistic now is that it has been a lot harder for that administration to get stuff done. I am not saying that was self-inflicted. I am not blaming any one.”
On the commercial real estate side, he says there are some markets showing signs of “toppiness”, namely the major gateway cities including New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco, but he added that certain sectors including multi-family (PRS) and industrial “the new retail and a rock star for the last five years” were markets to watch.
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