ODU Hosts Annual Real Estate Forecast March 16
March 09, 2017
Andy Hansz
Producing his second Hampton Roads Market Review & Forecast, Andy Hansz, Robert M. Stanton Chair of Real Estate in Old Dominion University's Strome College of Business, has tackled a unique variable.
A new president and White House administration, especially one led by a real estate mogul with a showman's touch, makes any financial prediction a challenge. Add President Donald Trump's recent vow to invest significantly in the nation's military (which would dramatically affect Hampton Roads), and predicting a typically stable market like real estate is even more challenging.
"You have to be ready for a number of scenarios," Hansz said.
For that reason, Vinod Agarwal, ODU professor of economics, will make the leadoff economic trends presentation at the annual Hampton Roads Market Review & Forecast and offer three distinct predictions for the local market. "For people investing in this market, you need to be ready for different outcomes and not put all your eggs in one basket," Hansz said.
For more than two decades, the University's E.V. Williams Center for Real Estate (formerly CREED) has produced an influential report that covers a range of real estate sectors, from single family to commercial to financing.
The findings of this year's report will be presented to a gathering of local real estate industry leaders March 16 at 3 p.m. at ODU's Ted Constant Convocation Center. The event, which runs from 3:30 to 6 p.m., will see experts from various sectors of the real estate market deliver their reports and forecasts for the year ahead.
Hansz, who came to Old Dominion in 2015 from California, said the overall Hampton Roads market is stable, but some sectors are still recovering from the 2007-09 economic slowdown.
"It's not boom or bust in any one sector. The market is just kind of chugging along," he said.
Within that environment, however, Hansz said some sectors have done better. For example, the multifamily market, both for new and existing properties, has been strong for the past few years. Last year, the industrial sector saw a significant increase. "There may be a peak in some of these areas, where you may see a leveling off," Hansz said.
The different sectors where information will be conveyed to attendees, along with the presenters, are:
- Economic trends and conditions: Vinod Agarwal, professor of economics, Old Dominion University
- Financing: Tom Dillon, senior vice president, Union Bank & Trust
- Office: John Profilet, vice president, S.L. Nusbaum Realty Co.
- Industrial: Lang Williams, senior vice president, CBRE
- Retail: Chris Rouzie, senior vice president, Cushman & Wakefield/Thalhimer
- Multi-family: Chris McKee, president of operations, The Franklin Johnston Group
- Investment: J. Scott Adams, regional president, mid-south region, CBRE
- Residential: Van Rose, president, Rose & Womble Realty Co.
To close the event, Nancy Dove, managing director of Valbridge Property Advisors, will present the findings of the Hampton Roads Sentiment Survey, a quarterly questionnaire given to influencers in the local real estate market.
The sentiment survey was brought to Old Dominion by Hansz, as an effort to regularly gauge the mood of key players in industry sectors, aiding with forecasting for the real estate market.
"We're into our second year now, so we are able to compare data, year by year, from January. This survey will be more valuable as a comparative tool as we move forward," Hansz said. "Plus, it's always important to hear from people actively engaged in real estate in this market."
For more information about the Hampton Roads Market Review & Forecast, or to register, see the E.V. Williams Center for Real Estate website.
