And while New York City reigns king over London and other global cities for investment, Howard Roth, global & Americas leader of real estate for Ernst & Young, finds that investors are buying in the US for safety and buying in emerging markets for growth, but “at the end of the day, you really need to invest in your education,” Roth said. “You have to invest in being on the ground, knowing local customs and laws. Whether pre- or post-recession, we’ve seen a huge amount of capital going overseas.”

But stagnant domestic job growth is still the looming fundamental problem, said Robert Selsam, senior vice president at Boston Properties, Inc. He explained that while the United States has been diligently developing high-tech jobs, the industry has still not recovered from the loss of jobs--like manufacturing--that aren’t coming back. “There are times when New York City feels like an island, immune from what’s going on around it,” Selsam said. “But we are not.”

In turn, deal-making and development has slowed. “Now brokers are saying take your time, find the right space and do the right deal,” Selsam said. He added that Boston Properties put the brakes on constructing the $1-billion-plus 250 W. 55th St. office tower when the building was at grade-level in 2009 due to economic infeasibility. Now the 39-story project has been revived thanks to law firm Morrison & Foerester taking 180,000 square feet here. “What you have now is a market that seems to be driven by natural factors,” he said.

Adding to that problem is unemployment for entry-level employees entering the marketplace, where the unemployment rate is triple the 9.1% rate for the rest of the country, said moderator Steven Spinola, president of the Real Estate Board of New York. “It’s a little scary among young people,” he said. “It is a real serious hurdle.”

And despite the dearth of jobs for young people just exiting college, Michael Maturo, president and chief financial officer, RXR Realty, said the societal shift back to cities could attract them back to urban cores, such as Manhattan. “Young people want to be in the city and they want the New York experience,” he said. “And we are seeing in the suburbs that people are drawing out into the city. There is a lot of discussion in the suburbs to create environments near transportation centers away from suburban sprawl. That’s years away, but it’s on the plate right now.”

On the investment side, Maturo said the current environment is more a problem of confidence and RXR is still eyeing emerging neighborhoods. The firm recently closed on the 2.3-million-square-foot Starrett-Lehigh Building at 601 W. 26th St. in Chelsea on Manhattan’s West Side, which is showing bright spots. The city’s Midtown South market--comprised of the Flatiron District, Gramercy and Hudson Square--has one of the lowest vacancy rates in the nation, holding its own at 6.4%, said Bruce Mosler, chairman of global brokerage for Cushman & Wakefield during the following “Tenant and Leasing Update” panel.

While fears about job losses in the financial sector come to a head, panelists agreed that high-tech investment in Manhattan--such as Google’s 111 Eighth Ave. and the potential for an applied science campus in one of the five boroughs--could drive new job growth.

“I think the real bifurcation in the world told is the difference between confidence and fear,” said Tommy Craig, senior vice president for Hines.