ULI New York Real Estate Outlook 2017: Real Estate Opportunities in 2017

ULI New York recently held its Real Estate Outlook 2017 event. Discussions included current trends in the real estate industry, an outlook for the upcoming year, and the various economic, political, and social impacts on the industry. The event concluded with a panel that focused on how technology and the life science industries are helping shape real estate planning and development.

One of the panels was asked for their opinions on the biggest opportunities that industry participants would have in the upcoming year. The following is a summary of their responses.

• James D. Kuhn, President, Newmark Grubb Knight Frank
  • Due to a demand backlog, Mr. Kuhn felt opportunities would be prevalent in multi-family housing with the possibility of a revival of the 421a program in New York City.

• Peter Riguardi, President, New York Tri-State Region, JLL
  • For the New York region, Mr. Riguardi articulated the importance of, and opportunities resulting from, the growth of the technology industry as a driver of real estate markets. On a national basis, Mr. Riguardi saw future opportunities in the corporate/banking sectors due to changes in the political and regulatory environment.

• William C. Rudin, CEO & Vice-Chairman, Rudin Management Co., Inc.
  • Infrastructure investments in the New York region such as improvements in local airports (LGA and JFK) were seen as opportunities for real estate development by Mr. Rudin.

• Lauren Hochfelder Silverman, Head of the Americas, Morgan Stanley Real Estate Investing
  • Ms. Silverman noted her optimistic outlook on industrial real estate as the biggest opportunity for the year ahead.

With the possibility of upcoming significant regulatory and tax reforms as well as other economic changes such as rising interest rates, the real estate industry is going to be presented with both opportunities and challenges as the year progresses. It will be interesting to watch market leaders who are able to both locate the opportunities and overcome the obstacles to achieve growth and success.