Dubbing it a first, David Lereah NAR's chief economist, explained that the Commercial Real Estate Leading Indicator is designed to provide "early signals of turning points between expansions and slowdowns in commercial activity."

Focusing on trends in the major markets, the index, planned for a January launch, will factor in such drivers as the job market, retail and wholesale sales, REIT prices and durable goods as forces impacting the commercial real estate sector, NAR officials explained. The index would project activity—or the lack of it—over one or two quarters. Currently, the database contains trends dating back to the early 1990s, NAR spokespeople told GlobeSt.com.

Ultimately, the goal is to fold the index in with NAR's recently created Commercial Practitioners Survey, which would be used to provide color commentary on the trends tracked in the index.

"With the development of the Commercial Real Estate Leading Indicator, we are bringing forth a full spectrum of critically important information," stated James Marrelli, NAR's VP of commercial real estate. "That information will provide better guidance on where the commercial real estate markets are headed, and aid decision makers in developing their strategies."WHILE NAR fine tunes its index for January, Naree is gearing up its new officer slate. Elected president for 2005/2006 is Alan J. Heavens of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Vice president is the New York Post's Lois Weiss; second VP is Steve Cook of NAR; treasurer is Ken Harney of the Washington Post Writers Group; and secretary is John Handley of the Chicago Tribune.