Like all property types, the multifamily sector suffered the effects of the past year’s recession. High unemployment rates pushed vacancy rates up, price declines and a tightened credit market put the brakes on new and existing construction projects, and building sales stagnated. Nevertheless, many investors remain enthusiastic about the future of the property type. In fact, more than two-thirds of respondents (70 percent) of Jones Lang LaSalle’s Fall 2009 Cross-Sector Survey believe that the apartment sector will perform better than the office, retail, industrial and hotel sectors by as much as 30 percent.

To get a better understanding of why, we invited three expert panelists — Doug Bibby, president of the National Multi Housing Council (NMHC); Robert “Bob” Chapman, executive vice president and co-chief operating officer at