The session started with economic guru Peter Bernstein painting an overall picture of the investment market, relative to other forms of investment. Stocks and bonds, he pointed out, due to their liquidity, are akin to going out on a date, he offered. "But real estate is a marriage."

That was clearly enough for the other speakers to build on, and they did, offering up examples of how over the past few years, "real estate has migrated more to an engagement," in the words of Owen Thomas of Morgan Stanley, citing the growing presence of public companies in which to invest. "The ability to trade is higher than the perception due to burgeoning liquidity and lowering investment horizons."

Nevertheless, as Nancy Everett of the Virginia State Retirement System pointed out, mistakes in real estate are much more difficult to reverse than those made in the other sectors. As a result, "Our group has to define risk more adequately," she said.

While all participants agreed that nothing can take the place of due diligence and knowing the locale and the property, Jerry Speyer of Tishman Speyer said that "order" has come to the market through equity. "The banks have become much more vigilant," he stated. "There was a time when one could create a project without taking a dime from his pocket. That is virtually impossible today. Now, typically a non-public project will have 55% to 60% equity; it's a tad less in the public arena."