The outlook was generally positive and motivational during the NYU Schack Institute of Real Estate Alumni Association's Women's Panel Discussion: "Adapting in an Era of Change." The illustrious panel boasted Hoit; Ruth Agnese, president of Appraisers and Planners Inc. ; Susan Chapman, global chief administrative officer, Citi Realty Services; Faith Hope Consolo, chairman, retail leasing, marketing and sales division of Prudential Douglas Elliman Real Estate; Helen Hwang, senior director, New York Capital Markets Group at Cushman & Wakefield; and the moderator of the evening, Barbara Champoux, partner at Crowell & Moring LLP. The wisdom imparted by these executives was to focus on opportunity and preparation.

"One of the wonderful things that happens [during a downturn], it opens opportunities to move forward [newer initiatives]," Chapman explained. If it helps reduce cost, Chapman pointed out, most companies are willing to look at anything right now; for example: sustainability programs and revamps. Citi ramped up some of these programs during the upswing and was situated to implement them when the market turned. Hwang hammered home preparation, especially for sales.

"Investment sales, there's no volume," she explained. "We're fighting for small deals." With large drops in overall sales in New York City, there were bright spots in the future, which is why keeping in contact with clients and potential lenders was as important now as deals in the long-term will be. "You can't make something out of nothing," she said. "But the floodgates will open. You have to be prepared."

Hwang and her team have been seeing possibilities in new relationships, as well as the tried and true. "[There is] a lot of new money in town," she explained. "The old money is suffering," and you have to be proactive about getting to it. She likened it to "stretching before the actual game starts."

Consolo, the proclaimed "Queen of Retail," pushed for a similar, more visceral approach: "Come out from behind the machine. Come out from behind the desk," she demanded. "You're never going to know what [a client] is thinking if you don't talk to them." Consolo challenged the audience with a rhetorical consideration to emphasize her point: "You know how many deals I can tell are going south just by the tone of [a client's] voice?"

Gentry also noted that this was a time where helping a start-up company was good for long-term business, perhaps giving them a break on a price for an unfilled property. Consolo concurred, noting, "For Mom and Pop [stores] that were being pushed out, now is their opportunity."

Agnese emphasized physical interaction as a current market driver, whether it be to "network, network, network" or talking to clients "on a daily basis." She also implored younger members of the audience to volunteer with real estate groups and organizations to get their foot in the door, since it was a hard time particularly for entry positions. Champoux reiterated this point, "Even in a good market, you have to be prepared for the next market."

The current market, however, is an unforgiving place and times will be tough, as many of the panelists noted throughout the evening. "Complaining that things are unfair is not productive," Hwang asserted. "The world will always be unfair; that is a certainty. [Go] full on, head on. Just deal with it."

Consolo offered some advice on how to handle these vicissitudes of fate that will befall everyone who enters into this tumultuous industry: "Keep throwing out the rulebook. Keep dancing. The market keeps changing."

Instant Insights /

Panel: Preparation and Opportunity Will Meet

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