CREOpoint and ARGUS Software bring you the 3-day on-the-spot report from MIPIM, the next best thing to having been there.

My key take-aways are:

• Cautious optimism pervaded (growing in direct proportion to number of drinks and lateness of the hour).
• Prime locations and properties are stil the focus of major investors. Secondary locations, not so much.
• Regions and countries are thinking ‘big’ again. Whether it be London’s Olympic Park, the Grand Paris project, Qatar’s Downtown Doha project; Russia’s Sochi and Skolkovo Innovation City, Istanbul’s Zorlu Center or Rome’s Ostia waterfront, the scale of ambition and vision is widening. Ultimately, demographics rule: the world population is growing and so is the need for innovation and renewal.
• Concerns about energy supply and cost, the advance of green technologies, and social responsibilities for corporations are continuing to put sustainability at the center for many new developments.
• One only had to walk down the Croisette to witness that Tablets, SmartPhones and Social Media are now pervasive at all levels of our industry. The future is now.

Click below for more:

• What I heard from global property leaders
• Which companies and cities won CREObuzz™ e-marketing awards
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What we heard from industry leaders

Senior industry leaders gathered at CREOpoint-hosted pre-MIPIM event at my Cannes villa. Overall, the mood was mostly positive. Here’s what we heard:

Demitrios Louziotis, SVP, Global Real Estate Solutions at ARGUS Software, sees many signs that the replacement cycle may be starting again – especially in Asia where risk tolerance is returning: “While there are signs that market activity is poised to increase, there is still a major focus on strategy and risk analysis and management.”

W. P. Carey‘s Board Member Reggie Winssinger emphasized the attractiveness of the low interest rate environment, at least for investors whose deals are sound enough to qualify for loans. 

Howard Roth, Global Real Estate Leader, Ernst & Young was “cautious but positive, even in Europe, thanks to the recent stimulus. There’s plenty of equity looking for a home this year.”                                                                                                            

Gunnar Branson, the new CEO of NAREIM, was in good spirits, noting that their last member quarterly confidence index was back up.           

Jim Fetgatter, Chief Executive at AFIRE, “The mood of investors has improved dramatically since the dark days of 2008 and 2009. With the problems of Europe and the uncertainty of the future there, the US is perceived to have a certain optimistic prognosis, however slowly the recovery unfolds.”

Chris Lawrence, E.V.P. Investment Management at Bentall Kennedy pointed out interesting opportunities due to technology and demographics (e.g., in the growing medical office market).

Even the most optimistic VIPs invited by CREOpoint expressed some caution as obvious risks remain. Distressed assets are still weighing on lenders’ balance sheets and unwinding these assets could fuel more financial turbulence for banks and the market in general. Much of the conversations were about when, if and how banks will let go of assets and debt. It was clear that BNP Paribas, hurt by the euro zone debt crisis, was preparing for more stringent Basel III banking rules. It was announced during MIPIM that the French bank sold a 28.7% stake in Klépierre SA for $2.0 billion to U.S. shopping mall giant Simon Property Group.

David Simon, Chairman and Chief Executive of Simon Property and the new chairman of Klépierre’s supervisory board said his firm has long admired Klépierre’s pan-European footprint and strong growth potential. “The investment in Klépierre represents an attractive opportunity for SPG as we seek to broaden our global footprint.”

Consolidation is also continuing in services. NAI Global, the largest network of independent commercial real estate firms worldwide, with an 80-strong attendance at MIPIM this year, has recently been acquired by C-III Capital Partners LLC to create a leading, fully integrated commercial property services company.

Jeffrey M. Finn, President and CEO of NAI Global, said: “Corporate and investment clients will now benefit from an even broader range of services in more locations worldwide. In particular, they will have access to a corporate solutions and capital markets offering with expanded asset/property management, project/facilities management and valuation services so they can get the most value from owning, managing or disposing of their assets.”

Chris Ludeman, President of CBRE Capital Markets: “Improved deal volume and confidence remain centered on core deals in major markets, but confidence is growing that it will spread to smaller markets. A major driver is the rapidly improving debt capital markets. The unpredictability of the U.S. presidential election – and its possible impact on fiscal, monetary and regulatory policy — remains a wild card. However, chronic fiscal and political uncertainty may be the new normal, and one to which CRE investors will need to adapt years to come.”

Olivier Piani, CEO Allianz Real Estate: “Margins for lending are rising so it now makes sense for for an insurance company to do it. We will also take advantage also of banks selling performing property loans and leaving the business. We don’t need to buy trophies but if we want to buy growth we’ll need to buy in the US and Asia.“

Joschka Fischer, former Foreign Minister and Vice Chancellor of Germany: “We never expected in 2008 that in just a few years Europe would be the centre of the crisis storm. We will emerge from crisis with greater unification because it’s the only way we will get through the economic crisis.”

Cushman & Wakefield wins the CREObuzz™ e-marketing award

Cushman & Wakefield stormed into the top of the CREObuzz™ e-marketing rankings for MIPIM in 2012. Overall, three firms dominated commercial real estate online buzz: Cushman & Wakefield, Jones Lang Lasalle and CBRE. It was clear that C&W deployed a comprehensive strategy to dominate social and conventional media sources, with almost twice as many mentions and coverage as other firms. Congratulations to C&W on a very impressive win. Overall, companies based in the U.S. continue to lead in the use of social media; although improving, adoption of these technologies in Europe and Asia will take more time. One leading indicator was apparent at MIPIM: the huge screens beaming Twitter posts with #MIPIM or MIPIM notations to all delegates at the event. Thousands of posts, ranging from the fascinating to the mundane were front and center at the event. Complete results are available exclusively to CREOpoint members upon request.

Grants from ARGUS Software, GE Capital Real Estate, KPMG, RealFoundations, Real Capital Analytics, the Wall Street Journal and W.P. Carey are making these monthly newsletter possible

CREOpoint networking works. Contact us now if you’d like to explore a sponsorship of our exclusive events or global e-newsletters. CREOpoint will be well represented at conferences organized by NAREIM (March 18-20, Miami), IFMA (April 11-13, Chicago and October 31-November 2, San Antonio), NAIOP (April 24-26, Miami and May 16-17, Philadelphia), PERE (April 24-25, Los Angeles, June 13-14, London and November 8-9, New York), CoreNet (April 29 – May 1, San Diego), SIOR (May 10-12, Miami and October 25-27, Los Angeles), ICSC (May 20-23, Las Vegas), CRE Finance Council (June 11-13, DC), NAREIT (June 12-14, New York and November 13-15, San Diego), Realcomm (June 13-15, Las Vegas), BOMA (June 24-26, Seattle), RICS (September 11-13, Las Vegas), ULI (October 16-19, Denver), Expo Real (October 8-10, Munich), CREW (October 24-27, Chicago), USGBC (November 13-16, San Francisco), MIPIM Asia (November, Hongkong), MAPIC (November 14-16, Cannes), SIMI (December, Paris), Universities (NYU, Wharton, Wisconsin)

Sponsoring a CREOpoint global newsletter like this one about MIPIM elevates your company in the eyes of the industry’s leading visionaries, subject matter experts and CEO’s:

• Written by and for leading executives
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We provide industry leading companies and executives with the tools they need to stay there. Please let us know if you would like a demonstration of how CREOpoint can build you a custom risk management and business intelligence tool for your company, including the latest about your own competitors, prospects, markerts, topics and product type.

We’d like to again thank ARGUS Software for making this newsletter possible

CREOpoint now operates the leading global commercial real estate business/social network. CREOpoint.com has 100,000+ visitors and members from over 50 countries.

In three years we have developed over 40 client relationships and alliances with leading organizations who trust us. For example we also sell complementary business intelligence subscriptions, and provide corporate sponsorships and new media consulting to prestigious clients such as CBRE, Ernst & Young and GE Capital Real Estate.

Please let me know directly at+1 914 310 4189 or contact me now if you or one of your colleagues would like to explore how to also work more closely with us. If you are also planning to participate, I would also be delighted to meet you or one of your colleagues at/around these events:

• NAREIM (March 18-20, Miami)
• IFMA (April 11-13, Chicago)
• NAIOP (April 24-26, Miami)
• PERE (April 24-25, Los Angeles)

Gatherings like MIPIM (thanks again to the organizer for their hospitality), and the exclusive CREOpoint pre-MIPIM event are at the junction of inspiration and investment capital, powered by ingenuity of global leaders from across our profession. Our industry will come out of these economic times with tremendous momentum. There is a whole new horizon coming into view, and CREOpoint is pleased to be an integral part of it.

Best, JC

JC Goldenstein, CREOpoint Founder and President

Trusted insight. Global influence.

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An article also published by Commercial Property Executive magazine: Risk management and social media in commercial real estate

About CREOpoint

CREOpoint operates the global commercial real estate business/social network (CREOpoint). We sell complementary sponsorships (CREOnewsletters), risk management and business intelligence subscriptions and custom dashboards, and new media consulting (CREObuzz).

CREOpoint.com offers professionals a focused environment in which they can access relevant news, share information and ideas with peers, increase their online visibility and reputation, and develop trusted relationships. In addition, over 40,000 decision makers around the world read our corresponding global newsletters.

CREOpoint has world-class data mining and advisory solutions. We now advise global real estate leaders such as ARGUS Software, Bentall Kennedy, BNP Paribas, Catella, CBRE, Credit Foncier Immobilier, Cushman & Wakefield, Ernst & Young, GE Capital Real Estate, IREM, Jones Day, KPMG, NAI Global, OSCRE, Petra Capital Management and Real Capital Analytics about global business development, online reputation, competitive intelligence, risk management and influencer engagement.

In 2011, CREOpoint launched new subscription, risk management and business intelligence dashboards and app products now sold through our offices in the U.S. and in Europe. We are well on our way to changing the way professionals and companies successfully build their brand equity and businesses in the commercial real estate industry.

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