Coldwell's virtual High Desert Real Estate Symposium to cover economy, Brightline

The 2021 High Desert Real Estate Symposium will be free and virtual when it returns at 10 a.m. on March 25 and April 1.

The annual event, hosted by Coldwell Bank Commercial Real Estate Solutions, will provide a review of the real estate and economic markets of the High Desert, and historical analysis and trends affecting the market. 

This year’s symposium is the second to go virtual after the live in-person event scheduled in March 2020 at the Hilton Garden Inn in Victorville was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Eventually, organizers reinvented the symposium as a one-day, online offering.

The March 25 symposium will include an “Economic Review & Forecast” and also the “City and Town Manager Panel” where officials will share updates on past, current and future projects in their respective municipalities.

Scheduled to speak on March 25 is Christopher Thornberg, the director of the University of California, Riverside School of Business Center for Economic Forecasting and Development. He is also an adjunct professor at the school.

Thornberg is the founding partner of Beacon Economics and is nationally known for forecasting the subprime mortgage market crash that began in 2007. He was one of the few economists on record to predict the global economic recession that followed.

Earlier this month, Thornberg told Nevada Public Radio that he anticipates a very quick economic recovery once the COVID-91 vaccine “gets rolled out and we truly and finally get control over this horrible virus.” 

Thornberg also said he’s worried about inflation, as a heavy increase in the money supply over the past 20 years has put the economy in a situation where inflation could heat up.

April 1 will feature a “State of the High Desert” presentation and a “Brightline West Panel” that will discuss the high-speed passenger rail project between Apple Valley and Las Vegas.

Last year, Brightline announced that Fortress Investment Group, its parent company, had put the brakes on the $8 billion privately financed XpressWest project when it could not complete financing.

In January, Brightline West President Sarah Watterson said her company was preparing a revised financial plan for the project that could see a second-quarter 2021 groundbreaking date.

Brightline entered into a lease agreement with Caltrans in June 2020 to use the existing right of way along Interstate 15 for the construction of nearly 170-miles of track for its trains that are expected to reach top speeds of 200 mph.

The train station will be located near I-15 and Dale Evans Parkway, just north of Bell Mountain in Apple Valley.

To register for the symposium, visit www.cbcsymposium.com.

Daily Press reporter Rene Ray De La Cruz may be reached at 760-951-6227 or RDeLaCruz@VVDailyPress.com. Follow him on Twitter @DP_ReneDeLaCruz.