"There is just so much confusion and lack of clarity in the market place due to the credit crunch and the liquidity crisis that it has driven commercial real estate professionals to really seek out information and networking opportunities," says Richard Kelley, RealShare conference series director.

Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter will give this year's keynote address during the networking luncheon. Nutter, who has spoke at the past two RealShare Philadelphia conferences, "is really expected and looked upon to be doing some exciting things," Kelley says. "We look forward to him sharing those economic and business development ideas with the audience of RealShare."

New to the event this year will be "Two Views of Philadelphia: the Economist and the Investor." William Dunkelberg, chief economist with Temple University, and investor Ward Fitzgerald, senior managing principal with Exeter Property Group LLC, will give their perspectives on the markets and issues. "You always hear from economists and then, a lot of times, you hear from the investment perspective. The idea is to put them together and have them on the stage at the same time kind of going back and forth with each other," Kelley says. "We think it should be a pretty dynamic discussion."