What Happens in 2009?

Sam Zell (fresh out of the REIT game after the sale of Equity Office Properties to Blackstone Group), told the crowd at a REIT symposium that commercial real estate had two more good years in it before trouble hits. “We've never seen numbers as big as the numbers being bought and sold for in today's environment,” he said. He expects that to hold up, but said the United States is running out of niche investment opportunities. Instead, more firms should start looking overseas, he suggested.