Today's Uncertainty Breeds Tomorrow's Opportunities, Real Estate Leaders Told at Manhattan Conference

NEW YORK CITY-A recession that will surely bring higher vacancy rates and unprecedented foreign attacks on US soil are generating historic uncertainty in the commercial real estate market. For many this is could be a time to pull back and stay on the sidelines. Jerry I. Speyer, president and chief executive officer of Tishman Speyer Properties, has a different approach. And he told a gathered audience exactly that at the 34th Annual Conference on Capital Markets and Pension Fund Investment in Real Estate held today at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. The conference is being presented by the New York University School of Continuing and Professional Studies’ Real Estate Institute.

“We as an industry have seen a major reduction in activity due to a decline in the economy,” Speyer said. “But we’re not changing our strategy because we believe that uncertainty breeds opportunity. Buccaneers of the real estate industry always look for ways to create value in unique situations.

“This opportunity won’t be like the early 1990s with the RTC selling paper at huge discounts. We’re not suffering from oversupply because the high barrier to borrowing in the 1990s was great and we hope it continues because it’s the best traffic cop we could have,” Speyer said. “Real estate is fundamentally stable and there will be much less effect on ownership because it is much better positioned to deal with it.”