I recently attended the 10th Annual Real Share New York event at the Marriot Marquis, where many elite real estate experts shared their vision, understanding and expertise of the current real estate market. Though they came from different arenas of real estate, whether it be office, residential or retail sales and leasing, the common notion through all their perspectives was a bullish outlook on New York real estate. Philip McAndrews, a managing director and Head of Global Real Estate Transactions & Joint Ventures for TIAA-CREF pointed to the population growth in New York as a great indicator of future potential. David Greenbaum, President of the New York Office of Vornado Realty Trust noted the increase of tourism in NYC, where foreigners are taking advantage of favorable exchange rates to enjoy all the city has to offer. Benjamin Fox, Executive Vice President of Retail Leasing at Massey Knakal echoed this with his observation of improvement in the retail sector with a new consumer class he terms “Super Rich” who are spending over $3,000 on handbags without a bat of an eyelash. In fact, he shows how much retailers are willing to spend on their advertising to these consumers with the new Midtown advert for Uni-Qlo that sees 51,000 people passing by every day.

The industry leaders also took into account the influence of the banking industry and the government on the current economy. Lee Neibart, Global Chief Executive Officer of AREA Property Partners, considered a way to solve today’s banking problems by having bank CEOs get out into the field to see for themselves what’s going on. That may help them come up with ideas to stimulate the economy. As far as the government’s handling of the economic crisis, bank bailouts and leadership in Washington, Mr. McAndrews’ point resonated in that “the fish stinks from the head.” Leaders must take responsibility for the choices they make that affect those they lead. A clear indication of that is the frustration of the people who are staging worldwide “occupations” of various financial centers in the world which started at the world’s financial center, Wall Street. Whether you see them as lazy people who are out of touch with reality or with a genuine cause to protest, they’re message is they want their leaders to take measures that will allow for a more equitable class situation in their respective economies.

Stephen Green, the founder of SL Green Realty Corp., the largest owner of office buildings in Manhattan was also featured at this conference. Mr. Green came from humble beginnings and actually worked as a trial attorney before forming SL Green Properties and accumulating his portfolio of real estate. He was also a bronze medalist in squash at the 1985 Maccabi Games. A self made, hard working man, he reminded us that nobody has a crystal ball when it comes to real estate or economic forces, but “sometimes you just have to take a shot” and trust your instincts. I would love to know his thoughts on the protestors downtown…