WASHINGTON, DC—Unease about the US economy has been building for months. While it is always prudent to keep an eye on economic reports, the commercial real estate industry should also keep the following in mind 1) real gross domestic product (GDP) still managed to grow 2.7% year-over-year as of the first quarter and 2) that is a rate high enough to sustain commercial real estate demand drivers.

So DTZ concludes in its US Macro Forecast, which also predicts positive economic results for the second half of the year.

"It is always difficult to predict with any precision when an expansion will come to an end, but the latest data on confidence, jobs, debt ratios and capital flows shows there is little evidence to suggest the US expansion can't on go for a lot longer," says Kevin Thorpe, DTZ Chief Economist, Americas, in a prepared statement. "From a commercial real estate perspective, the odds are heavily in favor that expansion has a lot of runway left."

DTZ comes to this conclusion analyzing a mix of traditional economic measures and some observations about consumer behavior.

For instance, consumer confidence and spending have been lackluster so far this year -- that spending binge expected from the savings in gas prices never materialized. DTZ's take? Personal spending has indeed been ultra conservative but consumption at restaurants and hotels continues to be strong, posting a 5.3% annualized growth rate in the first quarter of 2015. "It is important to note that if there was a looming economic slowdown, consumers would typically react by cutting down on unnecessary items," it said in its report.

As for the disappointing GDP figures, the brighter side of the story is actually the more accurate one. Namely, the economy faced significant headwinds with the nose-dive in energy pricing and the hard winter. DTZ estimates that the fall in oil prices shaved at least 50 basis points off top-line GDP growth in Q1. "Despite all of these hurdles, real GDP still managed to grow 2.7% year-over-year," it said.

The labor market too is improving -- in ways both visible and not-so-visible to the casual observer. The Labor Department reported that some 280,000 jobs were created in May, but a less heralded stat is the 5.4 million job openings, which is the highest number on record. The quit rate, for its part, is steadily increasing to pre-recession levels and currently is just under 2.0% versus 2.2% in the first half of 2007. "A larger number of people voluntarily quitting jobs signals that there is widespread confidence in the ability to secure another job," the report said. "It is against this backdrop that we anticipate increased tightening in most employment metrics."

The Federal Reserve Bank is crunching this data, analyzing and re-analyzing it as it decides when to begin raising its benchmark interest rates. Predictions have ranged from September to the beginning of next year (as both the IMF and World Bank would like).

DTZ's call -- September, assuming that both oil prices and the US dollar are stable and core inflation is nearing the Fed's target rate of 2%. DTZ predicts the Fed will raise rates cautiously at small increases of 25 basis points.

None of this is to say that it is smooth sailing for CRE (when is it ever?). The industry has its own fundamentals to watch as they intersect and interact with these larger macro trends.

For instance, multifamily -- the indisputable golden child in the sector -- is showing some signs of wear as the construction pipeline gets more and more robust.

Deliveries are expected to peak this year with just over 230,000 new units coming online, according to figures from Reis. Meanwhile the apartment sector has been absorbing 176,000 new apartment units per year since 2010, leading DTZ to conclude that even if the current level of demand is sustained going forward, new supply will still exceed it.

The office sector too is facing change as well -- space efficiency is driving down lease sizes. "In each cycle, gross leasing activity as a share of inventory has fallen from 2.6% (before the 2001 recession) to 2.1% (before the 2007 recession) to 1.6% (the current cycle)," it said.

Retail's challenge is the growing encroach of e-commerce. As for industrial, it appears likely to claim the title of golden child sooner or later. "We forecast that the U.S. industrial sector will absorb 179 million square feet in 2015. The absorption will once again exceed new development, causing vacancy to fall to 7.1% by year end," DTZ said.

These, however, are side concerns. The biggest threat to US growth and subsequently the commercial real estate sector is the global economy, DTZ said. "Globally, the picture is messy," it said.

Ultimately, though, DTZ -- as well as many other economists -- are betting the US economy will overcome these headwinds as well. "In fact, the US economy has overcome a succession of negative scenarios throughout the recovery, bouncing back with greater momentum after each temporary obstacle."