"DC is not in a recession," said Mitchell Schear, president of Vornado/Charles E. Smith. "We are lucky to be in such a vibrant economy" even though it may not be as robust as it has been in previous years, he added.

The signs of a slowdown here, though, have been unmistakable with panelists across many different sessions--10 were held all together--offering opinions based on their own experiences with the market. For instance, Bruce Baschuk, president and founding partner of J Street Development, said he does not believe by year-end 2008 the District will reach even 50% of the investment sales registered in 2007. Dek Potts, senior managing director of HFF, as another example, noted that, according to his reckoning, 31 office sales closed in January 2007. This January, that number was eight.

With the sobering assessment of current environment out of the way, however, the speakers did not disappoint the 500 to 600 attendees who had come to hear how to get deals past the finish line, despite the ongoing challenges. From Potts: "special tactics are needed. You have to do more arm twisting to get a deal's story told and sold" to the lenders.