Property Sales Outshine the Gloom and Doom

"The big question on the minds of real estate leaders is: "Can the velocity of sales continue in the fourth quarter and in 2008?"
"When 2007 is behind us and we look back in the rear-view mirror, I think it will be a year of two markets: the first half of the year, which was a continuation of the white hot real estate market characterized by rising prices, fierce competition, high leverage, and abundant debt and equity capital at historically low cost; and the second half, which was marked by a severe tightening of credit, widening spreads, lower leverage, and more stringent underwriting," the chairman of the national real estate practice at Greenberg Traurig, Robert Ivanhoe, said. "The pipeline for investment sales coming to market is way off, and this is not surprising. Unless an owner has a compelling reason to sell, why would it sell into an uncertain and perhaps falling market and capture significantly less in price than just three or four months ago?" from Property Sales