GreenPearl.com’s events division has set out to craft high-quality, content-driven events that identify important topics and opportunities that exist in the market. Our launch event “Distressed Real Estate Summit” will bring together both residential and commercial executives to discuss the state of the market today, and the opportunities that exist in both distressed properties and debt. The agenda is comprehensive: General sessions will bring clarity to state of the debt market, clearly a significant driving force behind today’s distressed environment and an important issue for everyone connected to real estate and the capital markets. Other issues and challenges, such as how to bridge the bid-ask gap in new and innovative ways, and, namely, how firms are using technology to their advantage will be explored.

Other panels are crafted for specific kind of real estate executives, including individual/ high net worth investors and institutional investors. Quite simply, if you work in real estate, there is a panel for you at the Distressed Real Estate Summit, and the information you will take away on September 23rd will be invaluable in the months and years ahead.

Perhaps the following Warren Buffet quote about investment opportunities best describes the state of real estate and the dynamic forces at play: “Occasional outbreaks of those two super-contagious diseases, fear and greed, will forever occur in the investment community. The timing of these epidemics is equally unpredictable, both as to duration and degree. Therefore we never try to anticipate the arrival or departure of either. We simply attempt to be fearful when others are greedy and to be greedy only when others are fearful.”

In the time spent researching this event, it is clear that today’s distressed market is both severely problematic and opportunistic for investors, owners and developers — problematic for the highly-leveraged investors and owners who are watching values fall, their debt mature in the coming months and years, and struggling tenants request rent reductions. It’s also problematic for developers, who in the midst of significant projects, are now unable to secure financing. Larry Silverstein’s redevelopment of the World Trade Center is a more high-profile example of this kind of challenge, but one that’s being felt across the industry. To the contrary, it’s an opportunistic time for anyone who has been waiting to “jump in the game” and start buying and backing new development. On the residential side, all kinds of investors [high net worth, institutional and hedge funds] are taking advantage of bulk REO sales that exist in so many areas of the country and tax liens which, some would argue, provide a more cost-effective and direct means to ownership.

On the commercial side, those waiting to buy distressed debt are exploring new and unique partnerships that could lead to fantastic long-terms investment opportunities. What’s certain about commercial real estate is that there is near-universal uncertainty about the next 12-24 months. The distressed buying opportunity is only beginning to unfold. How are the the highly-leveraged investors and owners tackling expiring CMBS and other debt? Will special servicers respond in time? Will the government save commercial real estate from a complete meltdown? (And, should it?)

A final note about our venue: We are very exciting to hold our launch event at Pier Sixty, part of the Chelsea Piers Complex on the west side of Manhattan. Unlike other venues in Manhattan, Pier Sixty is a large and accommodating space that overlooks the Hudson River. The Chelsea Piers Complex contains restaurants, golf, and other sporting activities that make for a great client meeting/ activity before or after the summit. In recent months, Manhattan’s west side has been the center of attention in New York City: The city’s massive 4th of July Fireworks Display was coordinated on barges adjacent to Chelsea Piers. And, in January, the world’s greatest pilot, Captain Sullenberger, safely landed U.S. Air Flight 1549 on the Hudson, also in close proximity to Pier Sixty. While GreenPearl.com can not guarantee a world-class fireworks display, or a spectacular Hollywood-style crash landing on September 23rd, we are confident that our event will make a quite a splash in the industry as one which provides unparalleled information and networking. We hope you will join us on September 23rd for this innovative conference, at one of the city’s most exciting and engaging venues.