Real Estate Roundtable Elects New Board, Seeks Action On Key FY2010 Policy Goals

July 29, 2009 by Fractional Ownership News ·  

Refinancing Crisis, Erosion of Property Values, Pending Tax and Climate Change Bills Lead ’s Policy Concerns

Kicking off its 2010 fiscal year, in July welcomed a new board of directors and committee leaders, while vowing continued efforts to address a variety of national policy issues such as the credit crisis, environmental “sustainability,” tax, and other policy issues affecting the health of the real estate sector and overall U.S. economy.

Leading the 21-member board in FY10 will be Daniel M. Neidich, co-CEO of New York-based Dune Capital Management LP. Mr. Neidich succeeds President and CEO Christopher J. Nassetta as chairman of , a 10-year-old policy organization. The board includes top executives from national real estate firms representing various property types (e.g., office, industrial, multifamily, hospitality and retail) and entity classifications (e.g., privately-held and publicly traded). Six national real estate trade associations (out of a total of 16 that hold membership in The Roundtable) are also represented on the board in any given year.

“I am proud to take the helm at , which faces a number of important policy challenges in the year ahead — the most significant of which is the ongoing liquidity and refinancing crisis that is forcing real estate owners into bankruptcy and pushing up delinquency rates on commercial mortgages,” said Neidich.

Immediate Past Chairman Nassetta noted that “The real estate industry’s continued, unified efforts on the policy front, involving The Roundtable’s new leadership, CEO-level membership and national partner organizations, will ensure that policymakers fully understand how their decisions affect real estate markets, which are so closely interconnected to the health of the national economy.”

Roundtable President and CEO Jeffrey D. DeBoer added, “With so many significant policy issues now under consideration by the Administration and congressional policymakers, The Roundtable will continue to present practical solutions to complex issues based on fact-based analysis, supported by industry leaders and experts.”

In addition to Neidich, Nassetta and DeBoer, the FY10 Roundtable board includes: Roundtable Secretary Robert S. Taubman, who is chairman, president and CEO of Taubman Centers, Inc.; Roundtable Treasurer Jeffrey Schwartz, chairman of Global Logistic Properties; John C. Cushman, III ,chairman of Cushman & Wakefield, Inc.; Michael Fascitelli, CEO, Vornado Realty Trust; Thomas M. Flexner, Global Head of Real Estate, Citigroup; James L. Helsel, Jr., partner, RSR Realtors LLC and treasurer of the National Association of Realtors (NAR); C. MacLaine Kenan, executive director, Arcapita, and chairman, National Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate (AFIRE); James L. Lewis, president, and chairman, American Resort Development Association (); Roy Hilton March, CEO, Eastdil Secured; Constance B. Moore, president and CEO, BRE Properties, Inc., and chair, National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (NAREIT); James A. Peck, senior director, CB Richard Ellis, chairman, BOMA International; Ronald R. Pressman, president and CEO, GE Capital Real Estate; Scott Rechler, chairman and CEO, RXR; William C. Rudin, president, Rudin Management Company, Inc.; Richard Saltzman, president, Colony Capital; L. Peter Sharpe, president and CEO, The Cadillac Fairview Corporation LTD, and chairman, International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC); Douglas W. Shorenstein, chairman and CEO, Shorenstein Company LLC; Martin Stein, Jr., chairman and CEO, Regency Centers Corporation.

The Roundtable’s current policy agenda includes a “Five Point Plan” for restoring liquidity to the credit market. In recent months, several of the recommended steps in the plan have been enacted or implemented. However, in The Roundtable’s view, additional policy action is needed to facilitate loan workouts and restructurings (e.g., through temporary changes in the tax rules governing real estate mortgage investment conduits [REMICs]); and an overhaul of policies governing foreign investment in U.S. real estate (FIRPTA). “The debt markets, including the CMBS market, are still generally dysfunctional, transaction volume remains at virtually zero, and commercial property values remain under downward pressure,” said Neidich who spent 25 years at Goldman Sachs before becoming chairman and co-CEO of Dune Capital in 2003.

In recent testimony, Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke and U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner both acknowledged the lack of credit capacity and deterioration in commercial real estate markets. Additionally, Joint Economic Committee Chair Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) held a July 9 hearing on commercial real estate liquidity and market conditions at which The Roundtable’s DeBoer testified.

is unique in its focus on “big picture” policy issues affecting the national economy and overall real estate industry. It also is the only advocacy group in Washington that brings together chief executives of top U.S. real estate entities (representing all market segments, asset classes, ownership vehicles and capital structures) with the leaders of 16 national real estate trade associations to develop broad-based industry perspectives on key public policy issues. For more information: www.rer.org.

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