With the U.S. labor market recently recapturing the 8.7 million jobs lost to the recession, now is a good time to examine which metropolitan areas are leading in job growth and which are lagging behind.

In today’s highly competitive and transforming marketplace, the recruitment, retention and recognition of contributions made by talented professionals remains the No. 1 priority for real estate companies nationwide. That is one of the key takeaways from the recently released “2014 NAIOP Commercial Real Estate Compensation Survey,” completed in partnership with CEL & Associates, Inc.

Introducing Boston Properties CEO Owen Thomas during a “CEO Insights” session at Development ‘14 in Denver, Thomas Hynes Jr., CEO of Colliers International, Boston, described the firm as “the gold standard” of the office development business.

National research directors from major commercial real estate brokerage, data provider and investment firms — described as “the brain trust of real estate research” by guest speaker Christopher Leinberger — gathered for their annual meeting sponsored by the NAIOP Research Foundation on September 11 to share their observations and outlook for the next 12 months.

New research that challenges stereotypes can help the commercial real estate industry recruit and retain young talent.

When purchasing a car, the prospective buyer wants to inspect every inch of the vehicle before committing. Commercial real estate is no different; an investor looking to acquire a property would like to be able to see every inch of the building and identify all potential pitfalls.

All Aboard Florida is an intercity passenger rail project being developed by Florida East Coast Industries LLC, the owner of Florida’s primary passenger rail corridor, that will connect Miami to Orlando with intermediate stations in Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach.

After many failed attempts to garner citywide voter approval for a variety of light-rail and streetcar plans since 1997, construction is now underway on Kansas City, Missouri’s 2.2-mile downtown modern streetcar line.