According to Jack McNutt, senior managing director at Newmark Grubb Knight Frank, the quality of a building and the amenities, are still driving the real estate decision. “Tenants want their employees to have a great experience,” he says.

John Cornuke, senior director and head of asset management at TIAA-CREF, said that it is important not only to hear what is important to its tenants, but to be sensitive to those needs. When looking for space, Cornuke takes into account the driving forces in a particular market. For example, in places like Seattle and San Francisco, he says, technology accounts for about 40% of the users. “We better be prepared when we lose a law firm or financial firm as a tenant. You have to always be prepared to change it up and be sensitive to what the drivers and who the tenants are today. Stay ready to capture those tenants…flexibility is key.”

Next up was the Lifetime Achievement Award, presented to Robert Voit, CEO and founder of Voit Real Estate Services, who pointed out that at age 30, he took a risk with his company, almost went under, but persevered. He stressed the importance of adapting to today’s times in order to succeed, a sentiment that was echoed throughout the day. “The real estate business is a wild ride,” he said. “To be successful, it takes integrity, hard work, flexibility, and the willingness to focus on the interest of others and understand their needs.”

At the end of the day, the local leaders panel, lead by moderator Kurt Strasmann, a senior managing director at CBRE, reviewed each property type in the region, and where they see things headed in 2012-2013. Jeff Cole, executive director of capital markets at Cushman & Wakefield, reviewed the office market, and pointed out that “the office market here is definitely lagging.”

But Cole is bullish and points out that the fundamentals are strong. “We have strong job growth--unemployment is down in the county versus the state--and the fundamentals in the leasing market are improving. There is positive absorption in the county with the demand is coming from healthcare and the entrepreneurial tech companies.” And with no new construction, he says things look good. But the disconnect he sees is that rental rate growth isn’t happening. “There has been no significant rental growth for four years, but we are starting to see capital flow back into the market.”

On the industrial side, it has been one of the hottest markets around, says Strasmann and Rick Putnam, managing director at Colliers International. “Industrial is viewed as an efficient way to get income,” says Putnam.

Brandy Birtcher, president of Goodman Birtcher North America, noted that the issue with industrial in Orange County is that there is a lack of supply for larger users. “There are 9800 industrial buildings in orange county only 53 are for the bigger users,” he said. “So many are going to the Inland Empire.” Birtcher also mentioned the shift from next day delivery to same day deliver and the e-commerce companies competing for that, which drives the 300,000-square-foot range users. Going forward, he expects to see a push for the development of that larger class A space, as well as the consolidation of smaller building lots that will be torn down to accommodate the bigger yards.

Chris Bennett, director of development at LAB Holding LLC, said that on the retail side, he sees the apparel business down, but is seeing services, food and entertainment as the drivers. “There is a fundamental change with what retail centers need to be going forward. Retail is going through what the music business went through.”

Rob Socci, EVP at Voit Real Estate Services presents Bob Voit, founder and CEO of the firm, with RealShare Orange County’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

More than 600 were in attendance at the RealShare Orange County event on Thursday.

Kurt Strasmann, senior managing director at CBRE, leads a local leader panel discussion on who is buying, selling and financing in Orange County.

Strasmann, Voit, and Socci catch up before Voit receives the Lifetime Achievement Award

Moderator David Wensley, partner at Cox, Castle, Nicholson, leads a panel on what the corporate end user is seeing in their site and office selection.