A strong consumer sector in the U.S. economy will keep the nation from slipping into recession. But the construction industry should prepare for a significant slowdown as commercial occupancy rates tumble and the business sector continues to soften.
Leading economist Raymond G. Torto told construction executives at the CMD/CSI CEO Breakfast in Dallas that a strong consumer sector in the U.S. economy will keep the nation from slipping into recession. But he warned that the construction industry should prepare for a significant slowdown as commercial occupancy rates tumble and the business sector continues to soften.
Torto, who is principal and managing director of Torto Wheaton Research, said the heady days of the late 1990's and the year 2000 experienced "tremendous" growth of about 5 percent per year in the nation's Gross Domestic Product, a key barometer of economic health with direct correlation to the strength of the real estate industry. The traditional 25-year average GDP growth rate is about 3 percent annually. Few can accurately predict what the GDP growth rate will be in the future, he said, advising his audience to "buckle down, keep your business in line with reality and your expectations in line with reality."