Spring Meeting (April, 2010 in Boston, MA) – quick lessons learned/observations shared by ULI Charlotte Members:

• What will inflation and unemployment look like in 2014? No one can clearly state, there is lack of clarity.
• State of fundamentals are not agreed upon.
• People were ‘calm’ at this meeting, but not excited.
• This Recession is twice a ‘normal’ recession.
  • Recovery will come to those areas that didn’t bubble badly.
  • Vegas, California, Florida, will take time as they got really hit.
  • Corporate earnings must come first, then job recovery will happen.
• Of commercial sectors to recover:
  • Multifamily is poised to recover first
  • Retail
  • Office/Industrial
• Public/private partnerships will dominate future collaborations.
• Right now quality assets in quality markets are getting analyzed.
• The bigger will get bigger, smaller will stay small, middle gets squeezed.
• Rates are expected to move up after November elections.
• The source of economic growth isn’t by physical work or the dirt, we are a knowledge economy – it is the human creativity.
• Some books that were also recommended reading include:
  • The Great Reset: How New Ways of Living and Working Drive Post-Crash Prosperity by Richard Florida
  • Housing in America:  The Next Decade by John McIlwain

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