Real Estate Media president and CEO Jonathan A. Schein welcomed the guests, who commandeered every available chair to listen in on the gathering of the "who's who" in local real estate. Commissioner of the US General Services Administration's Public Buildings Service F. Joseph Moravec was the next to take the stage, covering various topics pertaining to the "$10 billion in federal construction in the works today." He lauded the positive effects President George W. Bush's management agenda has had on the government's real estate activities. "Part of the president's management agenda is to bring private industry tools and standards to the government sector," Moravec noted, attesting that applying such practices has made the government's real estate operations more efficient and friendlier to the private sector.

A brief, but information-infused RealShare Unplugged session entitled "Ten Minutes with Jeff Neal" covered topics ranging from the area's thriving investment sales market to the improvement of the GSA's relationship with private sector real estate over the last couple of years. Neal, who is a principal at Monument Realty, also noted that the lifting of building height restrictions would greatly increase retail opportunity. Neal also offered his thoughts on the role of the broker these days. "The market has become a lot more transparent, a lot more efficient, so a broker's role has changed," he explained. "Brokers and developers talk to each other, so the broker's role is to be a facilitator, not to keep each side of the transaction honest."

A mid-morning panel gave attendees a chance to hear from a five-person team that represented every niche of the industry. The list of speakers consisted of Charles E. Smith Commercial Realty president Mitchell Schear, Boston Properties executive vice president Ray Ritchey, Trammell Crow Co. principal area director Joe Stettinius, Marcus & Millichap president Harvey Green, and Advance Realty Group senior vice president and regional managing director David Fisher. Cynthia Hoffman, editor of Real Estate Media's Real Estate Forum, moderated the "Town Hall Meeting" session, where panelists covered topics ranging from commissions to cap rates.