There is clear evidence that Germany’s financial capital, Frankfurt am Main, is growing its reputation as Europe’s banking center by adding banking service units from at least a dozen financial services firms or units.

With the commencement of the 2017-2018 school year, we turn our attention in this column to highlighting what some of our people are doing to support the commercial real estate community.  NAI Global professionals are involved in dozens of community-based organizations throughout the U.S. and across the globe, but one association engagement stands out.

The multifamily market is facing a transition time. Transaction volumes have dropped from a record setting 2016 as rent growth is softening and new projects are coming online. Opportunities still present themselves, however, care needs to be taken to ensure the financials of a potential purchase make sense. More than any time since the bubble burst in 2009, choosing the best market for your investment is key.

Few cities in America have enjoyed the population growth that Atlanta has post-World War II. In 1950, according to Bloomberg, Atlanta had 670,000 residents and today, its population has grown to 6 million. Atlanta went from the 23rd largest metro area in the U.S. to its current status at #9. Good climate, excellent quality of life offset by reasonable cost of living expenses, infrastructure investing..

Last week this space provided gross domestic product statistics on the Southeastern states of Florida, Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, North Carolina and Tennessee, and discussed commercial real estate trends in Raleigh and surrounding cities. Here is the rest of the story.

A recently published statistic by Urban Land Institute (ULI) reported that collectively, the six southeastern states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee would form the 6th largest country in the world from a GDP standpoint. Plus, over the last four years the Southeast has also experienced the greatest population growth in the United States.

With dramatic turns around every corner in 2017’s rental market, it is hardly unrealistic to expect that changing times will persist into the coming year. Let’s take a look at some of the characteristics that will make up the renter pool in the year 2018.

Social media is one of the most active and engaging forms of marketing in today’s world. Unlike before, retailers aren’t the only companies taking advantage of all that social media has to offer their business. Commercial real estate companies like NAI Global are participating in the conversation on social media and engaging with their clients and consumers online.

One of NAI Harcourts lead sales agents, Andy Howell, has taken out the Real Estate Institute of Tasmania’s Commercial Sales person of the year award - for the second time in a row!

It seems as though Amazon is in the headline of every news story, from their acquisition of Whole Foods to the hunt for their next headquarters location, this company is making big moves that will result in big changes for the commercial real estate industry.

It’s been an ongoing debate as to whether tenants are favoring the suburbs over the city. As we see more office campuses such as Toyota and Liberty Mutual pop up in suburban areas, the favorability of suburban markets is making headway when compared to the city. So, where are the offices?

Experts anticipate that the commercial real estate market will continue to be healthy going into 2018. As investors look to find the next property to add to their portfolio as the new year approaches, these are the five markets CRE investors should watch in 2018. From drastic headquarter moves to the increase in suburban office market interest, the time is now for investors to expand their portfolios.