The half-day confab, which was presented by Real Estate Media, publishers of Real Estate Forum and GlobeSt.com, got under way with the introduction of Robert D. Duncan, chairman of Transwestern Investment Co. and Transwestern Commercial Services, by Jonathan A. Schein, president and CEO of Real Estate Media. Duncan set the mood by telling the crowd that "Dallas is excellent in the long-range perspective. Dallas has always been a darling for the investment community."
Though admittedly the region's coming out of some hard times, the general consensus and mood of the crowd speaks to optimism bred from a strong third quarter. Duncan, as others, made a point of recognizing "the significant increased pipeline in deal activity today over six months to one year ago." Still, real estate, and Dallas in particular, has a long way to go before emerging from the dark times--a case more so of the historic lag time than any other mitigating factor.
Capital is looking for "a place to park," Duncan says. Transaction sales are sure to rise, he says. So will cap rates, say panelists from a town hall session. And so will rent, but that's a corner not likely to be turned until 2007, according to Duncan.
A special one-on-one interview with Andrew Florance, founder, president and CEO of the CoStar Group, brought news of a corporate expansion as the data provider ramps up to add another 50 cities, secondary and tertiary, to its database in first quarter 2004. Also coming will be the addition of retail and multifamily properties, some growth coming from acquisitions and others through greenfield sowing. "We are going after a one-stop shop and it's being backed by $90 million in cash," Florance tells GlobeSt.com after breaking the news to the brokers, and a few competitors, of the ramp-up plans.
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