"The Lay of the Land: Pandemic Impacts on Real Estate and Economic Developers’ Responses" is available now

WASHINGTON - August 3, 2022 - The International Economic Development Council (IEDC), the largest nonprofit association for professional economic developers, launched the final brief of its Economic Research Development Partners (EDRP) three-part series. Part think tank and part network, the EDRP program generates original research designed to serve economic development practitioners and to advance the economic development profession.

The series, titled "The Lay of the Land: Pandemic Impacts on Real Estate and Economic Developers’ Responses," examines today’s real estate realities and how economic developers are responding.

“These briefs on real estate could not have been published at a better time. As our survey results indicated, over 60 percent of respondents are trying to increase residential housing inventory.  This huge increase in demand, both in the housing and industrial sectors, is a phenomenon that economic developers have to address,” said Nathan Ohle, President and CEO of IEDC, “With the help of these briefs, economic developers will be able to take the relevant steps to address this issue in an informed and substantive way.”  

The Covid-19 pandemic has impacted the real estate market in unique ways as well as by accelerating existing trends. This series explores how these changes are affecting economic development, how EDOs are solving these new problems, taking advantage of new opportunities, and what tools and strategies they are using to do so.

“Housing is an issue that economic development is taking head on– and many for the first time– primarily in support of local employers and their workforce needs. These briefs tackle this issue and other relevant real estate topics, providing valuable case studies, tools, and strategies to economic developers everywhere,” said Jeanine Jerkovic, CEcD, Economic Development Director for the City of Surprise, Arizona and co-chair of EDRP.

The report is free to download for IEDC members. To download the report and learn more about the EDRP program, visit https://www.iedconline.org/edrp-reports/.