Since Zell did such a magnificent job of selling EOP at the top, and since he has a longtime reputation for finding bargains, his views are at least worth a listen.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p&s&refer=home

Bob U. 

P.S. The link sometimes does/doesn't open properly for me in preview, so if it doesn't work just go to the Bloomberg homepage and you'll see the Zell interview. Or maybe someone can get the link to work consistently.

The extract is a quote.

I believe the overall market has already started to ease,'' Zell said in an interview in New York.

Since July, when demand dried up for mortgage bonds and credit markets froze, lenders haven't issued any major construction loans because they couldn't sell them on the secondary market, Zell said. Now, with returns from Treasury bonds below the rate of inflation, demand for mortgage securities is beginning to revive, he said.

Insurance companies and pension funds need returns of at least 6 percent to match their liabilities, Zell said. Investment in commercial mortgage-backed securities is already beginning to return for the first time since July, he said.

``Is it in large volumes? No,'' he said. ``Is it the first natural step in the evolution? Yes.''

 Ray

 Nuriel Roubini is an economics professor at NYU. I thought his views on the econony would be of interest.Attached is Roubini's  assessment of our economy and problems.  

http://www.rgemonitor.com/blog/roubini/242906

Roubini is a very interesting chap, oft quoted in the Financial Times.

Despite his grim views, however, I seem to recall that he told the Times he was fully invested in equities.  Doublecheck me on this, but if I'm right Roubini may be a buy when there's blood in the streets kinda guy!   Bob U.

He operates RGE Monitor, an economic forcasting service. I have never seen RGE make a recommendation to buy/sell stocks, commodities or RE. In this and other recent articles, he predicts that we are in a recession that will last 12-18 months and will affect the commercial real estate market. He states that things are not well with  the US or world economies.  From my vantage point, I only see things that confirm his economic forecast.