"Our investment strategy hasn't changed in many, many years," said Douglas Shorenstein, chairman and CEO of the San Francisco-based Shorenstein Co., when he spoke with Jonathan A. Schein, president/CEO of Real Estate Media and GlobeSt.com. Shorenstein keyed in on the importance of timing in making a deal. "If you don't sell when you have the opportunity … if you wait, the asset is worth zero."

Shorenstein Co., which focuses on office properties, looked at purchasing the Roosevelt Hotel, where the conference was held. "We don't know enough about hotels," Shorenstein offered, "but it's an incredible location and could be redeveloped into an office." In the current market, he feels, "real estate is a platform for debt." The company got out the third-party management market a few years back to concentrate on the investment."Quite frankly, I didn't like it (property management). It requires a lot of internal investment. I have a lot more fun on the investment side on buildings we control."

Shorenstein noted that he finds a lot of sameness in market cycles. "I've heard, 'It's different this time around,' four times in my career, but at the end of the day, it's not different."