Unique Coastal Market Adjusts Expectations

Colleen McShane, group conference manager for the RealShare series of events, tells GlobeSt.com that the event organizers expect questions surrounding the capital markets to be a major focus of this year's RealShare in light of the dramatic changes in economic and credit conditions since last year's event. One highlight of the conference and one of the sessions that is likely to draw much comment regarding capital markets is a 9:55 a.m. session titled, "The Million Dollar Question: What Does it Take to Get Deals Done in the Current Capital Markets?"

"We expect a lot of interest in that question," McShane says. "That's one reason that we made it a general session."

As is the case with all RealShare events, McShane notes, the San Diego conference will feature a combination of individual and panel discussions, keynote remarks and networking opportunities designed for commercial real estate professionals and those in allied fields. RealShare San Diego will begin with registration at 7:30 a.m., with the first session kicking off at 8 a.m. as Kelly Cunningham, economist and senior fellow at the San Diego Institute, delivers the keynote address. After that follows an 8:20 a.m. town hall meeting that will weigh in on the question, "How Will San Diego Fare in 2008?"

Following the town hall meeting, a 9:15 a.m. session titled "Pardon the Interruption" will ask two executives to challenge each other's views in a fast-paced session regarding the San Diego area's hottest real estate and economic issues. The two execs will be Scott Brusseau, president of Newport National Corp. and Dennis Hearst, senior director with Cushman & Wakefield.

After a networking break, the conference will resume with the 9:55 a.m. "Million Dollar Question" session, then another networking break before the last part of the conference, two concurrent sessions. One session will address "Prime Opportunities in the San Diego Investment Sales Market," while the other will present a leasing market forecast.

The Real Estate 2008 conference and other RealShare events are produced by Real Estate Media, the publisher of GlobeSt.com, Real Estate Forum magazine, Real Estate Southern California magazine and other publications devoted to commercial real estate.