Dive Brief:

• International real estate developer and manager Jones Lang LaSalle is enthusiastic about the commercial construction industry in its "2013 Construction Outlook," suggesting that the name of television series “Extreme Makeover” applies.
• Four trends in the commercial sector are:
  • available financing again
  • higher construction costs
  • green building being considered a core competency and "smart" buildings as the add-on quality
  • public-private partnerships as a solution to infrastructure funding shortages and storm reconstruction as an impetus in some areas.
• Forecasts of various industry measures are good on the year, so there is optimism, but it is still cautious as the recession remains a strong memory.

Dive Insight:

JLL is definitely seeing a much better commercial climate than in 2009 and 2010, but the company is not breaking open any champagne to celebrate this report. As it notes, some factors are definitely encouraging, but the resurgence of residential building has pushed up both materials prices and labor costs.