Media
Marcus & Millichap's John Chang Optimistic About Economy, State of Healthcare
December 13, 2023
SCOTTSDALE, AZ—During the opening keynote session of the GlobeSt. Healthcare conference at the Andaz Scottsdale Resort on Tuesday, John Chang, Senior Vice President of Marcus & Millichap, shared insights into market dynamics, emerging opportunities, and trends while offering a comprehensive outlook for 2024. Addressing the audience, Chang emphasized the significant challenge posed by the constant barrage of negative news in the media.
“We are inundated with negative news every day,” he remarked. “There is a constant stream of concerns and potential disruptions. It’s easy for the negative media coverage to influence decision-making. Despite this, there are positive developments worth noting.”
Reflecting on the previous year, Chang recalled the widespread predictions of an impending recession and a steep downturn. However, economic expectations for 2023 have steadily improved, and the current outlook indicates a potential soft landing. “Despite challenges such as headlines, inflation, and more, the economy is outperforming expectations. We anticipate a softening, designed to achieve a controlled descent close to zero without going negative.” As for inflation in particular, he said: “Compared to where we were a year ago, the outlook is positive.”
Examining job numbers, Chang noted a steady decline, with the Federal Reserve actively working to slow down the employment market. In the healthcare sector, which constitutes approximately 25% of the total, job creation is a particular challenge, he said.
Despite being one of the fastest-growing segments of the economy, the healthcare industry faces a nationwide labor shortage, with specific difficulty in finding employees, Chang explained. “This shortage, while a sign of growth, also presents a substantial challenge to the employment market in the sector.”
Although there has been a decline in wage pressure, Chang believes it could shift upward again due to the significant labor shortage we are experiencing. He said this could highlight the potential for increased wage pressures in the future.
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“We are inundated with negative news every day,” he remarked. “There is a constant stream of concerns and potential disruptions. It’s easy for the negative media coverage to influence decision-making. Despite this, there are positive developments worth noting.”
Reflecting on the previous year, Chang recalled the widespread predictions of an impending recession and a steep downturn. However, economic expectations for 2023 have steadily improved, and the current outlook indicates a potential soft landing. “Despite challenges such as headlines, inflation, and more, the economy is outperforming expectations. We anticipate a softening, designed to achieve a controlled descent close to zero without going negative.” As for inflation in particular, he said: “Compared to where we were a year ago, the outlook is positive.”
Examining job numbers, Chang noted a steady decline, with the Federal Reserve actively working to slow down the employment market. In the healthcare sector, which constitutes approximately 25% of the total, job creation is a particular challenge, he said.
Despite being one of the fastest-growing segments of the economy, the healthcare industry faces a nationwide labor shortage, with specific difficulty in finding employees, Chang explained. “This shortage, while a sign of growth, also presents a substantial challenge to the employment market in the sector.”
Although there has been a decline in wage pressure, Chang believes it could shift upward again due to the significant labor shortage we are experiencing. He said this could highlight the potential for increased wage pressures in the future.
