While the real estate industry has experienced robust levels of growth over the past several months, a recently released survey predicts more moderate growth rates in the coming year. Emerging Trends in Real Estate, an annual study conducted by the Urban Land Institute, points to several factors, including consumer spending, inflation, corporate fiscal performance, and the job and housing markets, that will affect growth in real estate capital markets.

Emerging Trends cites “cautious optimism” for the economy, with respondents unable to clearly identify a specific industry to fuel the nation’s economic growth over the next twelve months. Some say that moderate expansion in a wider range of industries will lead to more stable and sustainable growth in the near term.

For the first time in the report’s 27-year history, San Diego is identified as the top real estate “market to watch” for investment opportunities, followed by former front-runner Washington, DC and Los Angeles.