These were just some of the high points of the day-long 'Real Estate 2006' conference at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza on Monday. Brokers, lenders, developers and investors speaking at panels throughout the day tackled a host of issues and fielded questions from an audience of 1,200 at the gathering.

The annual conference and networking event is part of the RealShare Conference Series produced by New York City-based Real Estate Media, publisher of Real Estate Forum, GlobeSt.com and Real Estate Southern California. The event features panel discussions and individual speakers from every realm of the commercial real estate world.

Pointing out that Southern California has relatively little land available for new developments anywhere except in outlying areas, a number of speakers made the point that the combination of this lack of new construction--along with population growth and the rising demand for space in commercial buildings of all kinds--is bound to eventually push rents higher for all product types. Another prospect the speakers broached is that if prices for investment properties have been climbing even in the face of rents that have been rising only slightly for several years now, prices will climb even further if growing demand for space pushes rents higher.