New Realities, New Opportunities

NEW YORK CITY-The climate facing attendees of this year’s RealShare Net Lease conference, scheduled for April 29 at the Marriott Marquis, is very different from the era of sinking cap rates and soaring transaction volumes seen in 2007. Whether the pendulum has finished swinging in the opposite direction, as it had begun to do when the 2008 Net Lease gathering took place, is a question for which there is no easy answer. But it’s one this year’s conference will address as it helps net lease investors and owners assess the current market and make sense of the opportunities and challenges it offers.

“The seventh annual RealShare Net Lease will convene at a very interesting time,” says Brian Klebash, RealShare Conference Series conference producer for Incisive Media, which also publishes GlobeSt.com. “The nation is deep in recession, the administration is taking steps to regenerate lending and traditional net lease investors, meanwhile, are plotting their next moves. Some have exited the market in the past year. Others are ready to start buying. There is activity in the net lease arena, and you will find out exactly what the key players are doing and how they are turning this down cycle into an opportunistic time.”

Getting the conversation started will be a panel featuring Sam Chandan and Howard Davidowitz that will discuss the economy from a purely real estate perspective. Chandan, president and chief economist of Real Estate Economics, and Davidowitz, chairman of retail consulting firm Davidowitz & Associates, will tackle the state of investment activity in net lease properties, the retail outlook for this year and next, landlord/tenant relationships and the potential for distressed opportunities. David Silvers, vice chairman and partner of US Realty Advisors, will moderate.