PHOENIX—RealShare Phoenix Metro kicked offyesterday with a panel examining the pros and cons of the Phoenixreal estate climate. Moderating the Town Hall panel wasAndrew Cheney, principal of Lee &Associates. Panelists included MichaelKlein, co-founder and chief operating officer and managingdirector, Partners Capital Solutions, Inc.;David Krumwiede, executive vice president - DesertWest Region, Lincoln Property Company;Jennifer Staciokas, senior vicepresident, Pinnacle; and KevinSullivan, senior vice president, Business Attraction &Expansion, Arizona Commerce Authority.

The panel discussed economic developers having fostered anattractive business environment enticing companies to the PhoenixMetro region. This business focus has stimulated population growthand job recovery. These factors and others are drivingregional CRE momentum. Local leadership came together todiscuss their perspective from the top of the Phoenix Metromarket.

Krumwiede said the industrial market is in a good place, butthere are definitely the haves and the have-nots. He related thatthis past quarter had been the 18^th consecutive quarterof positive absorption with much of that absorption occurring atthe mid-level, resulting in an 11.6% vacancy rate. “Regionalindustrial users are coming back,” he said. “Big boxes are stillpopular with developers, medium and small users are what'smoving.”