Janis Mara "The real estate occupations tend to be more flexible and move with the economy because everyone knows they are cyclical," said Dr. Delores Conway, director of the Casden Real Estate Economics Forecasting Project at the University of Southern California Lusk Center for Real Estate . As for the real estate finance industry, Conway said of the WaMu layoffs and Cendant closures, "It makes sense. Refinance activity is slowing down. Interest rates are up and people are not refinancing any more. WaMu did a lot of refinancing."
