Arizona Real Estate Notebook

This Los Angeles commercial real estate conference seemed bullish on commercial and concerned about residential real estate.

Michael Pralle, CEO of GE Real Estate, said in his keynote speech that U.S. market indicators are “mostly favorable,” with business profits and GDP growth expected to remain strong and long-term interest rates and inflation low.

“Rents and vacancy rates in most U.S. markets are the best I’ve seen in seven years at GE. There’s a wall of liquidity for real estate transactions

“The biggest worry for the U.S. economy is whether or not the housing downturn will lead to a diminution of people’s perception of their wealth,” Pralle said. “How much your house is worth is very important to how much you spend, and a reduction in spending will impact the broad real estate market — first in the retail sector, and ultimately in all asset classes.”