During the National Investor Forum Power Panel, talk moved abroad as panelists weighed the benefits of investment in the US vs. European markets. "The baby boom in Europe started a lot later than in the US," said Allan Saunderson, managing editor of the Germany-based Property Finance Europe, citing Germany and Italy as two European markets yet to fully emerge. Another market undergoing changes, said Saunderson, is the United Kingdom, where new legislation will soon establish that country's first slate of REITs, though a number of publicly traded property companies already exist. "About 70% of them will translate into REITs because of the obvious tax breaks," Saunderson said.

There is an opposite trend, however, in the US, where several major REITs controlled primarily by family interests have recently returned to operating as private companies."The reason REITs came into existence was to save overleveraged development," said Lee Neibart, senior partner with Apollo Real Estate Advisors, during the National Investor Forum Power Panel. "Those days are over: everyone is organized. If you're private, all of the upside is yours so I think you will see everyone who can go private."

Both Nadji and Buckley directed investors to look toward the office market, which was somewhat overlooked during the recent housing and retail booms. "We expect an increase in the underlying demand for office space partly because office development has been so restrained," Buckley said.