"We're going through a pause," she tells GlobeSt.com. "It's atime to catch our breath and prepare for the next wave. Mostindustrial developers are welcoming the slowing. The pace has beenalmost too fast. All this money has been pouring in, and sales andlease activity has been unbelievable. I think most people agree weneed a break to catch our breath and assess what the next stepsshould be."

The Lusk Center released the 2008 Casden forecast in midDecember based on statistics from the first three quarters of '07.But Conway assures that nothing has happened since October to alterthe report's findings. "Demand remains solid on both the sales andleasing ends. Cap rates are holding. Rents are holding. It's more aquestion of slowing acceleration than deceleration," she says.

The Grubb & Ellis 2008 forecast, released in early January,paints the industrial sector as the region's current investmentfavorite, overtaking multifamily. The report says busyports,extremely low vacancy rates and steady demand make industrialproduct the current "Energizer bunny." In Los Angeles County, landscarcity dropped construction activity to roughly three million sf,which represents less than one third of 1% of existing inventory.As a result, vacancies fell to 1.6%, the lowest rate in the US.However, Conway says some of the shortage was created byacquisition of industrial sites for residential and retaildevelopment. With those sectors losing favor, more land shouldbecome available for industrial construction, though probably notenough to satisfy demand.