IREM Conference Draws Full House

ORANGE COUNTY, CA-To diversify or not to diversify your portfolio, that is the question on the minds of many a Southland real estate company. It was also one of the hot topics, albeit one of many, discussed at this year’s “Back to Basics” conference and tradeshow presented by the Orange County chapter of the Institute of Real Estate Management. The event, which drew more than 1,000 attendees, was held yesterday at Anaheim’s Disneyland Hotel.

The diversification issue became a central focus of the conference’s capital markets session, which featured Southland real estate players Robert Campbell of CT Realty Corp., Michael Hayde of Western National Group and Steven Layton of Layton-Belling & Associates. The three-member panel, which was moderated by Stephen Duffy of Ernst & Young LLP, gave the session’s 200-member audience a variety of perspectives when it came to the subject of diversifying portfolios.

Campbell weighed in first, saying a mixed portfolio seems to be the way to go in today’s rapidly shifting market. “We’re very diversified,” Campbell said of CT Realty, where he serves as president. “We probe into areas and then back off quickly.” He added that starting up in today’s market as a single product company seems like a very difficult endeavor.