Fundamentals Are Sound Even as Market Slows

WASHINGTON, DC-Within the space of a few months the near-term outlook for the real estate industry has shifted somewhat in the midst of rising interest rates, widening spreads, the fallout from subprime underwriting and volatility in the CMBS market. Longstanding industry panelists on a roundtable held here yesterday at the Fairmont Hotel, though, are sanguine about the changes, noting that fundamentals remain strong and the capital markets are still liquid.

The event was the Transwestern/Real Estate Forum Eleventh Institutional Investor Symposium. Real Estate Forum is published by Real Estate Media, which also publishes GlobeSt.com.

Participants on the panel included Randy Mundt of Principal Real Estate Investors, Joseph Bonner of Prudential, Trevor Michael of TIAA-CREF, Steve Wallace of Cornerstone Advisors, Robert Merck of MetLife and Tom Zale of Northwestern Mutual. The session was moderated by Michael Desiato, group publisher and editorial director of Real Estate Media, and Transwestern investment services executive managing director Steve Pumper.