On Thursday, Oct. 10, the Commercial Investment Division of the New Orleans Metropolitan Association of REALTORS® (NOMAR) will tackle the most pertinent issues impacting the regional market at the 14th Annual Economic and Real Estate Forecast Symposium, presented by Gulf Coast Bank & Trust. This year’s theme, “New Orleans: Growth, Stabilization, or Disruption?” will unveil the latest up-to-date regional data, drawing over 500 experts in residential and commercial real estate, finance and banking, government and academia to experience and unpack the current state of the market. As the event approaches, early conversations on the data show surprising results. How has the real estate market shifted in the last year? Looking at the market as it stands today, we see it’s in a very similar place as it was last year at this time. Yes, things have changed, some for better and some for worse, but we still face the same challenges with similar intensity. High insurance premiums are still a major factor in deals. Borrowing costs remain elevated, with signs of relief on the horizon. Construction costs remain a hindrance to development. When we plan for the NOMAR CID Forecast Symposium (or simply called Forecast), we first choose the theme before planning content and inviting speakers. The committee spends a great deal of time contemplating what direction the local market is heading in, and our theme hopes to capture that. The New Orleans economy, is it growing? Have things stabilized? Certainly, there’s been some disruption. The speakers at our event will highlight the way things have gone in the past year as well as forecast where things are going. What surprises you about the new data you’re seeing? What’s surprising about the data is how stable each property type is in our market. By the numbers, our office market is quite healthy when compared to our peers. Vacancy remains low and rents are stable, if slightly growing. Retail is doing well, largely since lack of supply has meant low vacancy and growing rents. As for industrial, we’re one of the tightest markets in the country, especially for a port city of our size, so the fundamentals are very strong. As for hospitality, we remain a prominent market on the national landscape and expect to bring over 1,000 units online in the next year or so. Multifamily is hanging on and remaining steady as far as we can tell, and as for single-family home sales, listing prices are down a bit year over year, however, days on the market remain typical. Where do you see the greatest opportunities for growth? In our market, much of the new development we’re going to see in the next five years will be industrial. Construction of the Louisiana International Terminal will drive much of that development, with an increased focus on logistics and distribution in our geography. Some examples include the proposed Class A distribution facilities at both Esperanza Business Park in Luling and Gulf South Commerce Park, located at the Northwest intersection of Interstate 12 and Highway 1088 in Mandeville. These two projects alone represent the addition of hundreds of thousands of square feet of high-quality speculative distribution space, the first of their kind for our market. Our industrial market has always been driven heavily by port activity, but with the distinction that much of that demand has been related to commodity goods like agricultural products and raw materials. The expansion of the container capacity of the port represents a dynamic shift in our market and demand for suitable space will adjust accordingly. What projects or trends on the horizon do you find the most encouraging or inspiring, and why? I think the recent decrease in violent crime in New Orleans, along with the focus the Governor’s office has placed on making our home state more business-friendly, offer a very bright future for our city and region. There is still a lot of room for improvement, but it shows that things can progress when there’s a focus on the issues that matter. It’s hard to ignore that our Southern neighbors have performed better than us in recent years. We are, unfortunately, the last sunbelt State that continues to lose population year over year. That just means it’s time for us to compete, and we know that a better quality of life and a competitive business landscape can attract the kinds of industries that will offer sustainable growth. At Forecast, I’m most excited about the panel discussion in Session Three of our event, where a group of economic development leaders from many of the parishes in our MSA will engage in a discussion led by Susan Bourgeois, the recently appointed Secretary of Louisiana Economic Development (the first appointee from the New Orleans MSA in a long time). I expect that session to be chock full of good information about where we might be headed as a region and state. What advice would you offer a colleague in the industry that we can all benefit from learning? A healthy curiosity will serve you well. Asking good questions is an incredibly valuable skill, and more is gained by the questions you ask than the statements you make. It’s possible to expand your knowledge in a meaningful way each day if you ask the right questions. Why is Forecast an essential resource for experts?  At its base level, Forecast provides an opportunity to earn continuing education credits for both real estate agents and appraisers, but this event has evolved into something much larger than its stated purpose in recent years. The presenters at our event represent some of the brightest minds in our city, region, and country when it comes to real estate. By attending, you are gaining access to some of the most up-to-date and relevant information available. Additionally, our audience has expanded beyond agents and appraisers to business leaders in the community. Attendees value our event more so for the opportunity to learn and network with one another than for the CE (we know this because we track attendance metrics). While we know this event is great for real estate folks, it’s great for anyone whose business touches real estate at all. The NOMAR CID Forecast will take place on Thursday, Oct. 10 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Jefferson Performing Arts Center (6400 Airline Drive, Metairie, LA). For more information, visit nolaforecast.org.   David Keller is Co-Chair and Speaker Liaison of the 14th Annual Economic and Real Estate Forecast Symposium. When he is not volunteering with NOMAR, he is a Senior Associate at Colliers.