According to multifamily industry leaders who spoke at the recent ULI Washington Real Estate Trends Conference, the multifamily housing market in Washington, D.C., and other top markets is so rich with investment opportunity that “there are no bad strategies right now.” Read what types of multifamily communities and developments the panel said are achieving market acceptance at present.

Sustained, moderate strength in some of this month’s economic data creates a creditable sense of well-being, while see-sawing continues in the Barometer capital markets data and the weak housing data stay very weak. Overall, 51 percent of key indicators in the Barometer were worse when compared with one year ago, 44 percent were better, and 5 percent were unchanged. Read more about the economy, real estate capital markets, housing, and commercial/multifamily investment property.

The largest U.S. metropolitan areas continue to be home to the largest number of immigrants, with more than 1 million in places such as New York, Los Angeles, Miami and San Francisco. But the major metros with the fastest-growth immigrant populations were mostly in the southeast region of the country. Read which of the country has the metros with the fastest growing immigrant populations.

The retail real estate market currently suffers from an oversupply of space—the result of overbuilding before the financial crisis struck in 2008—plus a dearth of retailers now willing and able to fill space. Consumer spending is down for the foreseeable future as the buying public remains wary of returning to the days of large credit-card debt. While welllocated retail destinations may continue to thrive and maintain national retailers, plenty of others are going to keep losing tenants. In this environment, town centers and mixed-use centers may have an edge over their mall counterparts.

The future looks a lot more female for residential developments that correlate with income and educational attainment.