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To: Jim Willie CB who wrote (46334)	1/14/2002 12:06:27 PM
From: Sully-	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 65232

Agree completely Jim. Steelers win in nail biter. I'm worried about the special teams match up against Balt. It could make the difference in the outcome. I'm also worried that the Steelers may be overconfident going into this game. They have man handled da Ravens in both games this year.......... albeit losing one game by 3 points when C Brown missed 4 very makable field goals. Balt will come in with a chip on their shoulder...... wanting to even the score..... I'm glad Bettis got the extra time to heal, but rustiness is a concern. Me thinks that Zeroue was rested to help shoulder heal. Look for Steeler offense to throw the whole book of 'trick' plays at Balt on Sunday. If these guys are healthy, Steelers offense should be potent, even against Balt's defense. Kordell needs to show that his maturity is not tested by playoff pressure. Me thinks the Steelers 'D' will handle da Ravens less than potent offense. FWIW, although Balt looked sharp, they were playing a lackluster & uninspired Miami............. not the Jets.

To: Jim Willie CB who wrote (46334)	1/14/2002 12:12:09 PM
From: stockman_scott	Respond to of 65232

Experts predict another poor year for commercial real estate Tony Wilbert - Staff Atlanta JC Monday, January 14, 2002 Even if the overall economy begins to turn around this year, the commercial real estate market is in for another poor year. That's because the health of the office and industrial markets usually lags general economic conditions by up to six months, according to local and national experts who spoke at two real estate forecasts last week in Atlanta. "Commercial real estate will be delayed in its recovery," said Bob Bach, national director of market research for real estate services firm Grubb & Ellis. He addressed Grubb & Ellis' 2002 Forecast, which was co-sponsored by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The economy in general will begin a substantial recovery at midyear, said Jeffrey Humphreys, director of the Selig Center for Economic Growth at the University of Georgia. That would make for a 12 to 15 month recession, he said. As a result, it will be late this year or early next year before the national and local markets improve, Humphreys said. Real estate is inextricably tied to the economy. During a healthy economy, companies expand and create new jobs that lead to increased demand for office and industrial space. In a recession, companies lay off workers and dump extra space back onto the market. That's happened, and it's forced up vacancy rates. Locally, the office market's vacancy rate could climb as high as 20 percent this year. Nationally, it should peak at 16 percent, Bach said. The glut of space results in reduced rents that can devalue real estate. The commercial real estate market, which had enjoyed unprecedented growth in the late1990s, slowed last year as the recession took hold. The events of Sept. 11 tightened the noose as companies delayed or canceled plans to lease or build new space. The sudden fall of the local commercial real estate market shook up developers, especially in the office sector. It left even normally optimistic developers such as Hal Barry with a bad attitude. He projected that the economy would not turn around this year and maybe not even next year. "This is not a rebound by the end of 2002 or 2003," Barry said at the GSU Real Estate Alumni Group's Views from the Top presentation. "We're in for the long haul," he said. But it's not all doom and gloom." Atlanta typically leads the country out of recessions, said Bach. Grubb & Ellis has placed the city on its list of five places to invest in during the next five years. Moreover, strong job growth should return to the area in the middle of the year, said Rajeev Dhawan, director of economic forecasting at Georgia State University. "We need the job growth to fill the buildings and bring people into the apartments," he said. After a decade of adding an average of 60,000 to 70,000 new jobs each year, metro Atlanta lost about 20,000 in 2001. That resulted in a dismal year for the local office market. The metro area's job growth numbers will return to a "normal" level of 55,000 to 60,000 by 2003, Dhawan said. But the new jobs won't be here in time to fill this year's empty office space. So the cranes that became ubiquitous in the past three years will be put into storage, until the next boom, Bach said. "We probably are not going to see a return to full-scale speculative development until about 2005," he said. However, Atlanta's ability to create new jobs could help it buck the national trend, Bach said. "[Office development] could be warranted at an earlier stage," he said.