"I think its going to be a tough couple of years," Taurus Investment Holdings President Peter Merrigan told more than 300 attendees during the half-day conference's opening program at the Hyatt Regency. Merrigan and three other respected industry veterans assessed local conditions and handicapped various sectors going forward, with most indicating the near-term outlook is bleak.

"We certainly are nervous," fellow speaker William McCall Jr. relayed. The president of McCall & Almy indicated demand for office and flex space has slowed considerably, a notion shared by Paradigm Holdings President Kevin McCall (no relation), who voiced fears that the US economy could face "stagflation" such as that experienced in the 1970s. "It's eerily similar," he says of the present situation to those dire days, adding he believes unemployment could soar to 8 or 9 percent as it did in the 1970s, if problems persist for such areas as hospitality, housing and retail.

The most upbeat of the four at the inaugural panel seemed to be National Development President Thomas Alperin, predicting demand will recover sooner than many anticipate. "I feel very good about our regional economy," Alperin says, albeit citing the threat of inflation as a wild card that could disrupt a recovery. On the sales side, Alperin says the cost of debt and tighter underwriting should result in pricing adjustments of 5% to 20%, a view shared by others who agreed the feeding frenzy that led to record investment sales in 2007 is long gone, and could mean difficult times ahead for property owners needing to harvest assets.