Emerging Trends in Real Estate 2010 the annual report on the industry from the Urban Land Institute

Emerging Trends in Real Estate 2010, the annual report on the industry from the Urban Land Institute and PricewaterhouseCoopers, is bearish on commercial real estate in general but bullish on mixed use, urban neighborhoods. A “fundamental shift” is taking place in the real estate market that will favor infill housing and transit oriented development over large houses in the suburbs, the report says. “Road congestion, higher energy costs, and climate change concerns combine to alter people’s thinking about where they decide to live and work,” the report says. “The lifestyle cost-of-living equation starts to swing away more dramatically from bigger houses on bigger lots at the suburban edge to greater convenience and efficiencies gained from infill housing closer to work. ... For aging baby boomers, infill apartment or townhouse living means less upkeep and proximity to cultural and entertainment attractions. The young singles crowd stays closer to the action, too. They don’t need to worry about finding the right suburban school district for children. As 30-something couples have kids and consider schools, “more will orient to infill locations and less edge — increasing numbers of suburban school systems will lose advantages as tax bases falter.”