From the opening keynote address by chairman Stan Ross of theUSC Lusk Center for Real Estate through the sessions on finance anddevelopment to remarks by Lifetime Achievement Award recipient JohnCushman, speakers representing virtually every facet of thecommercial real estate world and every property type examined thereal estate landscape for signs of what lies ahead. The day'sdiscussions, which invariably turned to the implications of thecredit crunch, included debates about whether buyers and sellersare acting or failing to act out of fear or uncertainty, what theprospects are for various property types and geographic markets,and mention of the maxim that in times like these, cash is king.And one member of the economics panel said that today's conditionswill produce “a Darwinian herd-thinning event”in the commercial real estate world.

Possibly one of the most succinct summations of the situationcame from Cushman, who advised the audience, “Don'tpanic, but don't turn a blind eye to the issues that meritconcern.” Like Cushman, other speakers and paneliststhroughout the day suggested that real estate professionals todaymore than ever need to maintain a realistic perspective thatacknowledges the problems facing the industry but also recognizesthat downturns, like bull markets, eventually end.

Ross, for example, outlined a list of worrisome factors such asdeclining consumer confidence and slowing job growth, but he alsopointed out positive forces such as the Federal Reserve's supportfor low short-term interest rates and the strength of industrieslike healthcare and technology. He pointed out that times likethese present opportunities for well-financed investors to acquiredistressed loans and foreclosed properties at a discount. Ross alsocited the projected US and worldwide population growth that willultimately represent immense new opportunities.