“This time last year, tow major storylines existed: brokers as well as real estate professionals were spooked by inflation and the potential of rising interest rates crippling the economy and viability deals – and those came to fruition,” says Nick Sanfilippo, regional managing director of Franklin Street’s Atlanta office.
Greg Eisenman, also a regional managing director in Franklin Street’s Atlanta office, says that it’s important to remember the whiplash the U.S. economy has experienced the past several years as participants have had to navigate the sequential headwinds of the COVID-19 pandemic, a full shutdown and return of business, inflation brought on by the government stimulus packages and major interest rate increases by the Federal Reserve. In other words, the slight optimism that survey takers are expressing is a welcome sight.
“Let’s face it, we’re in the midst of one of the more unique periods in our industry’s history, or at least for the current generation, following an unprecedented global pandemic,” says Eisenman. “We all dealt with, and in some ways continue to deal with, the aftermath.”
