(Ian Ritter is national online editor for GlobeSt.com/RETAIL.)

NEW YORK CITY-How long can New York's real estate market remain hot? That was the main question real estate professionals discussed last week during the Fifth Annual RealShare New York conference put on by Real Estate Media, the parent company of GlobeSt.com and Real Estate Forum.

Though there are signs of what could lead to a potential downturn, such as rising interest rates and construction costs as well as prohibitive housing pricing for middle-income residents and the threat of another terrorist attack, speakers were generally upbeat about the state of the market, at least in the near term. "There are cycles in the real estate business, up and down," said Steve Siegel, CB Richard Ellis' global chairman, speaking during the New York Power Panel session. "I don't think I've seen the market in a better place, a better position."

In fact, there have been $9 billion of office properties sold in Manhattan so far this year, and with another $2 billion under contract, last year's $12-billion transaction record is on pace to be broken, pointed out Michael Desiato, Real Estate Media's group publisher and editorial director, during his opening remarks at the conference. Said Kent Swig, president of Downtown building-owner Swig Equities, "We'd love to buy some properties."