Block Real Estate Services‘ 2012 Kansas City real estate report brought good news and bad news. That’s pretty much par for the course in the commercial real estate world today.
Block’s researchers said that the end of 2011 brought more than a few glimmers of hope that a slow but steady recovery is in store for Kansas City in 2012. Unfortunately, this recovery is best described as shaky. After all, there’s an economic crisis going on in Europe and unending political infighting in Washington. Both could derail improvements in 2012.
The hope, though, lies largely in the return of jobs to Kansas City, according to the Block Real Estate Services’ report. The Kansas City metropolitan area lost more than 100,000 jobs from 2001 to 2011. But the metro area is expected to add 19,100 jobs in 2012 and, in even better news, 36,700 in 2013.
Again, though, this good news comes with a healthy dose of reality. According to the Block report, even with this job growth, the Kansas City metropolitan area won’t return to its pre-recession employment level until the end of 2014. For those keeping track, that’s more than six long years after the country’s Great Recession officially began.
Still, the Block report does provide plenty of reasons for optimism. Like most Midwest markets, Kansas City is seeing activity increase in most commercial real estate sectors. Multi-family continues to outshine other sectors, but the rest of the commercial industry is slowly rebounding, too.
As the major commercial real estate players in markets across the Midwest release their own 2012 predictions, expect them to be similar to the ones made by Block Real Estate Services. The main point is this: Yes, the commercial real estate industry is recovering. But the recovery is a slow one.
It’s not the good news that we all want, but it is good news, nonetheless.
