The latest employment numbers reinforce that confidence intervals on fundamentals projections should remain wider than prevailing investment trends suggest.

While housing market woes are fomenting stronger apartment fundamentals, investors and lenders should be careful not to ignore risks embedded in the multifamily sector's current trajectory.

Consumer activity is picking up, in spite of headwinds ranging from the inflation outlook to the slow pace of income growth. To pay for it, Americans are borrowing again. The Great Deleveraging? Apparently not.

Private sector employment jumped by 268,000 jobs in April, the largest increase in over five years. There is still a ways to go, especially as it relates to sustainable demand drivers for commercial real estate.

The economy hit a speed bump in the first quarter. Reigning in government and holding the line on new construction prove tough but necessary medicine.

The US economy expanded at an annualized rate of 3.2 percent in Q4 2010. While the recovery remains vulnerable to shocks, the findings confirm that private sector activity has picked up as stimulus has tapered off.

For investors embracing recent affirmations of a turnaround in commercial property fundamentals, Friday’s labor report should offer a modest check on their rising sense of optimism.

Preliminary reports of consumer activity in the weeks leading up to the holidays suggest a marked improvement in retail sales as compared to last year's relatively lackluster gains.