Simon didn’t seem overly concerned about whether people will lose their desire to shop, but how they shop was a different story. Competition from Internet retail, though not currently a danger to brick-and-mortar store performance could get fierce in years to come. “The mall is ingrained in our society for the next generation,” Simon said. “It’s the next generation after that that I’m afraid of. I hope to God that people want to get out of the house and do stuff instead of sit in front of a box.”

Mark Stefanek, chief financial officer of Westfield, one of Simon’s competitors in the mall space, said the US consumer is doing just fine right now, from his firm’s perspective. He said that sales in the US are “very strong.” To cater to this, the Sydney-based company is spending just under $1.3 billion to redevelop centers across its portfolio in the next year and a half.

Stefanek even made Europe sound stable. When talking about the Westfield's planned mall in Milan, he said that the macro issues happening on the continent won't impact the success of the development. "I don't really view it as Italy," he said of the Milan project. "It's the best development site in Western Europe."

Hamid Moghadan, chairman and chief executive of industrial REIT ProLogis, said that those who own the newest and most up to date facilities will succeed in Europe. The region is "not falling off the cliff like headlines suggest," Moghadan stressed.

Brookfield Office Properties Chief Investment Officer Dennis Friedrich revealed that his firm would consider acquisition opportunities in Europe, especially in London.

In the US, where Brookfield's offices are at a 91% occupancy rate, Friedrich said that deals are getting done, but larger tenants aren't pulling the trigger very quickly on leases. "If tenants have the time to make decisions, they're going to take that time," he said.

Friedrich said that the once-hot Washington DC office market has gotten more stagnant, a view seconded by Michael Fascitelli, president and chief executive officer of Vornado Realty Trust. He called the office climate there the "slowest I've seen it in a long, long time."

Fascitelli also said that the New York office market was slowing down due to financial services firms taking a hit and not increasing employment. "New York has definitely slowed down a little bit," he remarked. "It's been OK. It hasn't been great, and it hasn't been bad."

In other Vornado news Fascitelli revealed that the firm looks to sell three malls and other retail assets this year and hopes to see proceeds of about $1 billion from the sale. It is also trying to sell off other ancillary businesses, such as its investment in retailer Toys "R" Us.

"Some of the investments we have made have not had the returns that we expected," he acknowledged.