Dr. Blake is Global Head of Forecasting and Analytics at CBRE. His responsibilities include developing CBRE’s globally consistent economic and real estate view. He also leads the development of CBRE’s real estate performance outlook in EMEA and is closely involved in the coordination of CBRE’s view on global real estate investment performance.

An economist with more than 30 years’ experience in economic modeling and forecasting, Neil came to CBRE in 2012, from Oxford Economics, the economic forecasting consultancy. At Oxford Economics, he was Director of Economic Analysis and had primary responsibility for the analysis of international cities and regional services, commercial property, housing and retail markets, as well as global macroeconomic and financial sector analysis. Prior to joining Oxford Economics in 2008, Dr. Blake was a founding director of Business Strategies Limited, which became part of Experian in 2002.

Neil has extensive knowledge of economic modeling and forecasting, particularly with regard to real estate-related applications. These include modeling international property returns for leading investors, assessing the property market impact of a Eurozone breakup, work for the Barker Review on the economic effects of restrictions on housing supply, work for the European Commission on the cause of bubbles in the housing market and the RICS City Office Model. Also, “How Much Space?” and “Retail Voids” for the BCSC and the IPF Research Foundation’s project on “Property and Inflation,” interest rates in the long-term and the impact on property pricing, contributions to the development of an investment strategy for major investors, and modeling the link between economic development and the demand for commercial and residential space in the Middle East.

Neil is a member of a number of industry bodies, a frequent speaker at industry events, and a regular media spokesman for CBRE.