REITs represent a good indicator of how the commercial realestate world is going to perform, Nareit first vice chair ConnieMoore commented in remarks preceding a panel that she moderatedcalled "Navigating in Turbulent Waters." REITs constitute "a windowto the commercial real estate market," said Moore, who is ,president and CEO of San Francisco-based BRE Properties Inc., anapartment REIT.

Moore compared the world of commercial real estate to an icebergand said that REITs represent just the tip of the iceberg, and therest of the iceberg is hard to see. Nonetheless, Moore said, "Theiceberg is all one structure," so wherever the tip goes, you can besure the rest of the structure goes too.

The panelists for "Navigating in Turbulent Waters" includedexecs from retail, office and healthcare REITs, all of whom agreedthat the economic downturn and capital markets shutdown are boundto affect all companies. "No one is exempt from these powerfulmacro forces," commented panelist Debra Cafaro, the chairman,president and CEO of Chicago-based healthcare REIT Ventas Inc.