The Archon Group's Michael Nachamkin noted that the interest rate climate made spreads better helping developers "juice" profits. However he cautioned, "when interests rates go up, that climate will change."

Cohen noted that sophisticated international investors have told him they think as soon as interest rates go up, real estate will be "a disaster." He added, "I don't have a crystal ball to tell you when rates will go up, but they will have to."

Norman Sturner of Murray Hill Properties said that one of the fundamentals for real estate investment is having patience. He gave the example of an investor's choice: buying a quality asset with a bad leasing situation or a not-so-quality asset with great leases. "At some point, the leases expire…and what are you left with?" He also noted with that with the current fluctuation in Europe and the Mid-East crises, money is flowing into the US in "incredible amounts. People who can turn an empty set of bricks into an asset are in demand," he said. "Finding money is the easy part."