Spring has sprung

It’s hard to believe that another week is gone and I’m writing to you again.  I guess that I’m thinking about that unit of time in terms of what I accomplished this past seven days, what conversations I had, what I learned, what I saw and what I didn’t do.  In the last category, one of the things I’ve been delinquent about is a request from one of my daughters-in-law to document as much as I remember about growing up so that her son, my grandson, will be able to know more about his family.  I have done it as memories have surfaced but think that I need to be a little more diligent about that project.  I have also still not seen the very vocal frog that's been living in the pond in front of our house for some time.  He, I don’t know why I assume it’s a he, talks to us, knows when we’re around and is able to keep his whereabouts secret.  And as I type this now, he/she is saying “Welcome to the day.  Isn’t it a great morning?”  One accomplishment this week was the closing, not without some last minute angst, a refinancing of our home mortgage (4.65%/30 year fixed) which, as you might imagine, underwent a much higher level of underwriting than in the past.  But it did get closed (although I had to spend quite a bit of time on the phone with the new lender (who is also the old lender) and every time I called hearing their ‘on hold’ messages about how much they focus on customer service and would I be willing to take a customer survey after the call when all I wanted to do was understand why, if they are so focused on customer service, did I have to call seven times and speak with supervisor upon supervisor to actually get something done.  Another accomplishment was the arranging of meetings, some as far out as mid-May but with everyone's schedules being so hectic at this time of year I felt good about that.  And, not least, I learned more about myself and what makes me tick:  the eternal journey.

I had some interesting conversations ranging from the usual in my average week of trying to find the needle in the haystack of institutional real estate investors, the challenges posed by the Internet of being a parent of a 12 year old boy, the shortage of pension funds in attendance at MIPIM this year, and how to attract more attendees to an industry conference this coming fall.  But overriding all of that was something more predictable and yet beautiful:  the coming of spring.  For all my life I’ve lived in climates that have multiple seasons and while I love the Fall, the Spring has always been my favorite.  I was talking with someone this week who described it simply, “Spring brings hope.” And seeing the buds on the trees start to turn into leaves and the perennial stuff start shooting up from the ground and everything being so green makes me feel renewed as well.   But it’s also an indication that another season has passed and time is marching on.  Talk of things happening in the 1Q10 better happen soon or they’ll slip into 2Q10 or beyond. But, as much as we’d like to think we do, some of those things we have no control over; we can only do our best to make them happen.  Perhaps what is most obvious is how little control we have over anything in our lives. Maybe giving up and letting go, doing the right thing, being a good friend, smiling a lot and not taking ourselves too seriously are on the path to happiness and self-fulfillment.  But if we measure ourselves on daily accomplishments we will be disappointed, time after time.  So, as you move into your weekend, don’t be too tough on yourself, enjoy the spring (if you’re in a climate where spring has sprung) or just “Picture yourself, on a boat on a river, with tangerine trees and marmalade skies” and smile.  Trust me.  You’ll feel better, about everything.

 I just learned about an excellent offer that RCA (Real Capital Analytics) makes to academics (students and faculty).  If you qualify, you can go here and sign up to receive free RCA Trend Reports.  Matt Stone at RCA tells me that they have a number already taking advantage of this but if you are a student you should check it out and if you know someone who is a student or a faculty member please feel free to forward this on to them.  

Some stuff from MIPIM reported on Creopoint 

 1.  2/3 of attendees surveyed by a student group from the University of Wisconsin plan to hire in ...2011.
2.  Investors are moving away from risk to hard core

And other MIPIM stuff reported by REP regarding a JLL presentation on EMEA
1.    The money is chasing very limited product in light of alternative asset returns.
2.     Whilst the market will remain equity driven, new players are emerging and there will be greater polarisation and differentiation between the best and worst performers.
3.  Investors who proved themselves trustworthy and stuck to successful strategies in the downturn will be tomorrow’s winners and will attract an increasing share of capital flows.” 

Restaurant of the week:  Boulevard, One Mission St, San Francisco, CA (415 543 6084).  Located in the 1889 French-style Audiffred Building, one of the few structures spared from the 1906 earthquake and fire, this place is a throw-back to the black and white photos of that era but the food is modern, simple and clean and the decor is totally cool.  Ask for a table in the front so you can get the view of the Bay Bridge. 

Photo:  Container Freighter, finishing what must've been a long journey, passes under the San Francisco Bay Bridge very close to the end of their journey (Yesterday).

On the road....

March 19-22:  Northern California
March 23:  Rock 'n roll jam with some industry rockers in an unnamed Boston suburb

March 24-25: Boston for PREA's Spring Conference

March 26-30:  New York

March 31:  Cincinnati

April 1: Albany, New York

April 5-9: West Coast Trip

April 11-14: Dallas to attend the UBS Investor Conference

April 16-21: Tuscany (Vacation)

April 21-23: Venice for the annual INREV Conference

May 13-15: North Palm Beach, FL for the annual Homer Hoyt Institute/Hoyt Fellows conference

May 17:  Cleveland

July 13-16: Laguna Beach to attend the NMS Real Estate Roundtable


Good luck to Jimmy Boeheim and the Syracuse Orangemen!

 

These are my views and not that of my employer.

On the road....

March 19-22:  Northern California
March 23-25: Boston for PREA's Spring Conference
March 26-30:  New York
March 31:  Cincinnati
April 1: Albany, New York
April 5-9: West Coast Trip
April 11-14: Dallas to attend the UBS Investor Conference
April 16-21: Tuscany (Vacation)
April 21-23: Venice for the annual INREV Conference
May 13-15: North Palm Beach, FL for the annual Homer Hoyt Institute/Hoyt Fellows conference
May 17:  Cleveland
July 13-16: Laguna Beach to attend the NMS Real Estate Roundtable
 






These are my views and not that of my employer.