6 Quick Notes on the Real Estate Market in 2019

On January 24, the Urban Land Institute of Indiana held Real Estate Trends 2019: Getting to the Next Level at the Indiana State Museum, exploring the present landscape of the real estate market in the Hoosier State.
The event included a keynote presentation by Mitch Roschelle, partner and business development leader at PwC, in which he presented highlights from the Emerging Trends in Real Estate 2019 report — a joint publication by PwC and ULI, as well as several breakout sessions on the current state of living, building and working in the real estate sector.
Following are key findings by Julie Berry and Leah Stanton, who attended the event on behalf of Carson Design Associates:
1. Today’s rising construction costs come mostly via an increase in labor rates due to a shortage of labor, with a current 5:1 exit-to-entry ratio for labor in the construction industry.
2. In June 2019, we will match the longest streak of continuous monthly economic growth, signally the inevitable end to the cycle. How long the cycle lasts remains unclear.
3. In the hopes of reducing risks of damage and theft, more and more consumers are opting to receive packages at work. However, mailrooms in multi-family and office buildings remain unprepared for Amazon’s reach and the overall growth of online shopping, with some commercial properties eliminating the burden of responsibility by barring such shipments.
4. With population and employment growth rates slowing in recent years, more and more businesses are reexamining their present real estate position and how their proximity, amenities, and flexibility can best attract top talent.
5. As the e-commerce market continues to rise, so too does the demand for greater industrial space — with the development of more warehouse and distribution facilities needed in that the “last mile” of the supply chain.
6. Despite the alluring marketing ploy, “free deliveries” and “free returns” still come at a cost, with consumers paying some through marked up purchase prices, retailers assuming other expenses as a cost of doing business, and taxpayers footing the rest through overall infrastructure costs.
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