Urban Land Institute Predicts Continued good Market

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By John Handley

Tribune staff reporter

Published November 4, 2004



NEW YORK -- Real estate should remain strong in the wake of President Bush's re-election, commercial industry experts said Wednesday.



"The election uncertainty is over, but the Republican victory will not have an impact in the short term," said Michael Fascitelli, president of Vornado Realty Trust, who spoke at the Urban Land Institute's fall meeting here. "This is a great time to be a borrower. The flow of capital will not stop."



The institute, a nonprofit based in Washington, also issued its annual housing outlook, saying the sector will remain healthy as long as interest rates stay reasonably low.




"Real estate will continue to perform well. I don't see a tremendous difference because of the election," said Lynn Thurber, CEO of LaSalle Investment Management Inc. in Chicago.



Joseph Azrack, president and CEO of Citigroup Property Investors in New York, said the terrorism threat will haunt the office sector: "Employers will continue to see risk at concentrated downtown locations, and consider dispersing to the suburbs."



Developers will be seeking to capitalize on demand for second and vacation homes, said Peter Korpacz, a researcher with PricewaterhouseCoopers.



Among other trends highlighted in a joint Urban Land-Pricewaterhouse report:



- The move back downtown by empty-nesters and childless professionals will continue, but demand should hold for suburban single-family housing as long as interest rates remain manageable.



- Master-planned and new-urbanist communities will tap into rising homeowner demand for neighborhoods featuring more integrated land uses and access to convenient amenities.

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