ENCINO, CA-The multifamily industry is heading for its next bullrun, but hesitancy on the part of the business world is a majorobstacle. Still, investors should begin to prepare themselves forthe next cycle. That was the message from a trio of executives atMarcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services Inc., whodelivered a special presentation, “US Economic, Capital Markets andApartment Market Overview and Outlook,” yesterday.

Beginning with a broad look at the economy, SVP and managingdirector of research services Hessam Nadji pointed out that thecrawling pace of job growth is the primary reason behind the fearsof a double-dip recession. In the 2001-2003 recession, the US lost2.7 million jobs, but gained 8.1 million between 2003 and 2007.This latest downturn saw 8.4 million positions terminated between2007 and 2009, but has only seen a net gain of 723,000 sinceyear-end 2009.

But that figure isn’t going down anymore, and that’s good news,said Nadji. When it comes to job losses, “it looks like the worstis over,” he said. “We’re not moving forward quickly, but at leastwe established a base” when it comes to employment growth. What’sneeded, he noted, is a confidence boost for corporate America,which has been hesitant about its growth.