We put way too much stock in the passing of the old year and thecoming of the new. I’ve always felt that other than an excuse toparty (never a bad thing) New Year’s celebrations are much adoabout nothing. Just the rolling of days, one after the other. Onlythis and nothing more.

Such is true in our field. Expect more of the same in 2013.We’ve gotten over the uncertainty expressed prior to the electionand launched almost immediately into the uncertainty of theso-called fiscal cliff. Most pundits believe that whatever happenswith the issue inside the Beltway (let’s see how long this promiseof cross-aisle cooperation lasts. We’ve heard that before) it willbe but a blip on the CRE radar.

Short of those expectations missing the mark, we’ll justcontinue our long, slow slog to economic stability. Jobs willcontinue to inch along, beefing up the leasing market and sovalues. Or, as CBRE economist Arthur Jonessaid just this morning with the release of the firm’s most recenteconomic forecast: “Although concerns remain about the recovery inthe face of headwinds both at home and abroad, we have seenconsistent improvement in broader markets and believe that theeconomy is slowly gaining traction. Businesses remain healthy andcontinue to hire and we have seen significant improvement in thehousing market, which should provide the impetus for strongergrowth by the middle of 2013. As a result, we expect officefundamentals to continue their slow, but steady, recoverythroughout the next year.”