Of course, the push back on government financial regulation over trading businesses isn't surprising. The people who run the big financial firms and who dole out massive political campaign contributions have had a good thing going--massive compensation with little downside risk to their personal fortunes no matter the recent credit market meltdown. Who wouldn't want that game, supported when necessary by bailouts and cheap Federal borrowing rates, to continue. Sure some big shots--Lewis, Thain, Fuld, Grasso-- have been washed out with damaged reputations. But on the Wall Street scorecard--how much money you make--these guys are still well ahead of the game.
Real estate players don't want to see big changes either--they want the Wall Street firms to rebound and fill up office space especially in New York and other major markets. And most of all they want the CMBS market to revive to float transaction volumes again. Deals mean fees and promotes and big compensation numbers.
But all this activity is about brokering and trading, not creating anything. Our economy and the real estate business can't sustain itself off dealmaking.
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Jonathan D. Miller
A marketing communication strategist who turned to real estate analysis, Jonathan D. Miller is a foremost interpreter of 21st citistate futures – cities and suburbs alike – seen through the lens of lifestyles and market realities. For more than 20 years (1992-2013), Miller authored Emerging Trends in Real Estate, the leading commercial real estate industry outlook report, published annually by PricewaterhouseCoopers and the Urban Land Institute (ULI). He has lectures frequently on trends in real estate, including the future of America's major 24-hour urban centers and sprawling suburbs. He also has been author of ULI’s annual forecasts on infrastructure and its What’s Next? series of forecasts. On a weekly basis, he writes the Trendczar blog for GlobeStreet.com, the real estate news website. Outside his published forecasting work, Miller is a prominent communications/institutional investor-marketing strategist and partner in Miller Ryan LLC, helping corporate clients develop and execute branding and communications programs. He led the re-branding of GMAC Commercial Mortgage to Capmark Financial Group Inc. and he was part of the management team that helped build Equitable Real Estate Investment Management, Inc. (subsequently Lend Lease Real Estate Investments, Inc.) into the leading real estate advisor to pension funds and other real institutional investors. He joined the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the U.S. in 1981, moving to Equitable Real Estate in 1984 as head of Corporate/Marketing Communications. In the 1980's he managed relations for several of the country's most prominent real estate developments including New York's Trump Tower and the Equitable Center. Earlier in his career, Miller was a reporter for Gannett Newspapers. He is a member of the Citistates Group and a board member of NYC Outward Bound Schools and the Center for Employment Opportunities.
