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Downtown Atlanta Will Be Center of Real Estate World This Week

ATLANTA (Nov. 3, 2014) - By mid-week, downtown Atlanta will become the center of the REIT industry, with an unprecedented number of real estate CEOs gathering in the city that never stops building.

The National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts, or NAREIT, kicks off REIT World - its "Annual Convention of All Things REIT" - on Tuesday evening at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis. The convention runs through Friday morning.

That Atlanta is playing host to this influential conference that attracts top investors, money managers, bankers, and of course, developers, brokers and real estate press, is impressive. Atlanta has a greast tradition of entrepreneurs creating REITs, including John Williams (Post Properties), Tom Cousins (Cousins Properties) and Ray Weeks and his dad (Weeks Corp./Duke-Weeks). In fact, Atlanta used to be a key player in the retail REIT industry with JDN Realty (defunct), and IRT Property Co.; and in the mortgage REIT industry that dried up during recent downcycles. 

The list of REIT CEOs who heading to Atlanta this week for REIT World is impressive: David Neithercut, presdent and CEO, Equity Residential; Sandeep Mathrani, CEO, General Growth Propertties; Timothy Naughton, CEO, AvalonBay Communities; Jon Bortz, chairman;  Art Coppola, chairman and CEO, Macerich; Donald Wood, president and CEO, Federal Realty Investment Trust; and CEO, Pebblebrook Hotel Trust, which made a splash when it acquired the InterContinental Buckhead Hotel in 2010.

REIT World also marks the first appearance at a major event by PulteGroup President, Chairman and CEO Richard Dugas, who moved his company and himself to Atlanta earlier this year. Dugas (in photo) is a panelist on Wednesday's Session Two, "Gimme Shelter - Housing America."

We're sure Cousins and Post will be well represented as well. 

 

#NAREE13: Day One Rocks Atlanta

NAREE Recap: Day One

Posted on June 5, 2013

by Stephen Ursery, The Wilbert Group

The National Association of Real Estate Editors (NAREE) is holding its 47th Annual Spring Journalism Conference here at the Hilton Atlanta this week, and The Wilbert Group is there in force. In addition to our clients participating on numerous panels and hosting several high-profile events throughout the week, The Wilbert Group is providing pro bono communications for the conference and President Tony Wilbert is co-chair of the Host Committee.

In the spirit of the High Five blog, here are five quick blurbs about the sights and sounds of the show thus far:

#1 Taking Them Out to the Ballgame. About 30 real estate journalists and industry members took in the Atlanta Braves’ extra-inning win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday night. A blazing summer sun and some good ‘ole Southern humidity made the first few innings something less than completely comfortable, but according to our sources, the group from NAREE was feeling a lot better after a frosty beverage or two and the much-anticipated sunset.

Our sources also can confirm that France Media Editor Matt Valley provided extensive analysis of the Braves’ season so far on the post-game shuttle ride back to the Hilton.

Kris Hudson, who covers hotels and shopping centers for The Wall Street Journal (in photo at right, serves as NAREE president this year.)

Other notables in attendance include Ralph Bivins of Realty News Report, Harold Bubil of the Sarasota Harold-Tribune, Michael Bull of Bull Realty, Sue Doerfler of the Arizona Republic, Liz Gillespie of North American Properties, Daniel Taub of Bloomberg, Kristi Swartz and Scott Trubey of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, to name just a few.

#2 Go West Young Man (And South. And East). In the “Top 10 Issues Facing Residential and Commercial Real Estate Over the Next Decade” session on Wednesday morning, Howard Gelbtuch, chair of the Counselors of Real Estate, pinpointed Brazil, China, India and Russia as countries poised for significant economic growth – and, thus, growing commercial real estate opportunities – in the coming years.

#3 Not Getting out of the House. Gelbtuch also noted that the trend of working from home will have a growing impact on the office sector. “This year, 30 percent of U.S. professionals chose to work from home, and this number is expected to skyrocket over the next several years,” he said.

So if you’re reading this from the den while on the company dime, you’re not alone.

#4 Urban is In. In the “The Workplace Debate: Downtown vs. Suburbs” session on Wednesday afternoon, the panelists made it clear that tenants now want to be in walkable urban environments to attract workers.

According to David Kitchens of Cooper Carry, 85 percent of the projects that the firm’s Washington D.C. office is working on are around a transit station or a planned transit station.

#5 Small is In, Too. Both the “Workplace” and the “Top 10” sessions touched on the shrinking size of much of commercial space. According to David Demarest of Jones Lang LaSalle, Gen Y workers simply don’t need a lot of square footage to put stuff. “Everything they need is in this (holding up iPad) or an iPhone” he said.

Likewise, many apartments that are less than 320 square feet are being sold in New York City, Gelbtuch noted.

NAREE Real Estate Journalism Conference Fertile Ground for Freelancers

ATLANTA (May 19, 2013) - Why Should a Freelance Writer Come to NAREE 2013?

Recently a freelancer covering the broad field of real estate wrote into the NAREE office asking what could she get out of attending's NAREE's 47th Annual Real Estate Journalism Conference in Atlanta June 5-8 -- especially since travel budgets are so tight.

Here are some good reasons: Of the freelancer writers already registered for NAREE13 from Austin, Houston, Chicago, Salt Lake City, the Washington DC area and New York -- each has been to several NAREE conferences in a row. Editors from Bloomberg, Wall Street Journal Digital, Washington Post, Atlanta Journal Constitution, Unique Homes, MSN Real Estate, Inman News, Design New England magazine, Commercial Property Executive, Senior Housing News, Student Housing Business, Southeast Real Estate Business, Northeast Real Estate Business, Sarasota Herald-Tribune, National Real Estate Investor, World Property Channel, Vendome Group, and others are also registered for NAREE's conference at the Hilton Atlanta downtown.

Plus plenty of industry blog sites now use the work of bonafide freelancer journalists and many of the folks who run those blogs are coming to NAREE as are an amazing group of industry experts who will speak at the NAREE conference -- providing new story ideas for months to come. Only at NAREE13 can you interview experts under one conference roof on topics as diverse as -- net-zero homes, online real estate, new urbanism, home price forecasts, QRM and hard to get loans and trends in office design and building.

Opening day, Wednesday, June 5 at 4:30 PM there is a session specifically for freelancers in the digital age, plus networking time at NAREE's Opening Reception at 5 PM, the walk over to the W high-rise tour/reception from the Hilton at 6:15 and NAREE's President's Hospitality Suite which opens at 9:00 PM. NAREE president Kris Hudson, Wall Street Journal, and vice president Daniel Taub, Bloomberg, will welcome the group.

On Thursday morning, June 6 at 8 AM, NAREE Board Secretary Mary Shanklin of the Orlando Sentinel will talk on the new dawn of entrepreneurial journalism during her panel on "Digital Journalism: Covering New Ground." Lots of networking time for freelancers and editors is also built into the afternoon tours (beginning at 2:30 PM) and receptions and, of course, the NAREE President's Suite at 9 PM.

NAREE's Meet the Press (MTP) on Friday at 3:45 PM at the Hilton is an excellent vehicle for freelancers to see most of the editors mentioned above for three-minute one-on-one sessions. And to get to know them better after MTP, freelancers can attend the TGIF Reception, Journalism Awards Reception and the NAREE Suite at 8:30 PM at the Hilton. Here's a list to date of journalists who have agreed to have tables at NAREE's Meet the Press, chaired by past president Sue Doerfler, Arizona Republic: Alyssa Abkowitz, Wall Street Journal; Lauren Beale, Los Angeles Times; Jerry Becker, MSN Real Estate; Ralph Bivins, RealtyNewsReport.com; David Bodamer, National Real Estate Investor; Andrea Brambila, Inman News; Steve Brown, Dallas Morning News; Harold Bubil, Sarasota Herald-Tribune; Oshrat Carmiel, Bloomberg; Matt Carter, Inman News; Steve Cook, Real Estate Economy Watch; Polyana da Costa, Bankrate.com; Daniel DiClerico, Consumer Reports; Candy Evans,CandysDirt.com; John Gittelsohn, Bloomberg; Matt Goldstein, Reuters; Dion Haynes, Washington Post; Matt Hudgins, Freelance writer - New York Times; Kris Hudson, Wall Street Journal; Michelle Jarboe McFee, Plain Dealer; Valerie Kellogg, Newsday; David Levitt, Bloomberg; Lily Leung, San Diego Union-Tribune; Camilla McLaughlin, freelance writer – Unique Homes; Mark Moffa, Unique Homes; John Nelson, Texas Real Estate Business; Lynn Peisner, Student Housing Business; Gail Ravgiala, Design New England; Doug Sams, Atlanta Business Chronicle; Jarred Schenke, Bisnow; Mary Shanklin, Orlando Sentinel; Randy Shearin, Shopping Center Business; Lew Sichelman, Syndicated Columnist; Daniel Taub, Bloomberg; Scott Trubey, Atlanta Journal Constitution; Mary Umberger, Columnist - Chicago Tribune; Matt Valley, Seniors Housing Business; Alicia Wallace, Boulder Daily Camera; Lois Weiss, NY Post and others. (Complete list at MTP Sign-up Desk.) Make your reservations at the Hilton Atlanta today! NAREE's room block expires Monday May 20 at the close of business. Call 800-hiltons or visit www.hilton.com and ask for "NAREE's $119 rate." Register for the NAREE conference at www.naree.org. NAREE's Atlanta conference is just two weeks away.

Don't miss this chance to meet colleagues covering residential real estate including mortgage trends and commerical real estate including retail, hospitality and mixed-use with multifamily, senior housing and student housing. Contact Mary Doyle-Kimball Executive Director NAREE 561-391-3599 [email protected].

AJC Editor Kevin Riley to Talk Newspaper Survival at Real Estate Journalism Conference

ATLANTA (May 16, 2013) - Kevin Riley, editor of The Atlanta Journal Constitution, will discuss Newspaper Survival Tactics at the 47th Annual NAREE Spring Journalism Conference June 7. The conference will be held June 5-8 at the Hilton Atlanta.

The timing of the Q-and-A with Riley is perfect because this week, the AJC stopped giving away all its content for free and launched its paid myajc.com. Of course, payment for content is the key survival tactic for major newspapers.

Riley (shown in photo with Katie Couric) will be joined by Matt Kempner, longtime AJC Business page reporter and editor. Riley's talk, part of NAREE University, starts at 8 a.m. Suzann Silverman, editor of Commerical Property Executive will moderate the Q-and-A with the AJC's top newsman.

On the conference's opening day, June 5, AJC commercial real estate/economic development reporter Scott Trubey will offer his observations of the Atlanta skyline from atop the W Downtown Atlanta Hotel & Residences.

Just before the event at the W, longtime business columnist Maria Saporta will discuss "The Different Atlantas" at the conference's opening reception at the Hilton Atlanta. Saporta, who covered business and wrote an influential column at the AJC, now writes for Atlanta Business Chronicle and Saporta Report.

For more information or to register for the National Association of Real Estate Editors Spring Journalism Conference, click here.

The Wilbert Group is providing pro bono communications for the conference, and President Tony Wilbert is co-chairing the Host Committee and will be on a panel focused on real estate and Twitter (of course).

 

 

“The amount of information this conference offers is incredible." - #NAREE13 in Atlanta

The Wilbert Group is proud to provide PR and communications services for NAREE's 47th Annual Conference, to be held June 5-8 in downtown Atlanta.

BOCA RATON, Fla. (March. 20, 2013)—Hundreds of real estate journalists, freelance writers and communicators will gather in Atlanta June 5-8 at the National Association of Real Estate Editors (NAREE) 47th Annual Real Estate Journalism Conference.

 
Each year, the conference highlights important topics and emerging trends in the real estate industry – both residential and commercial. Urban planners, economists, architects, builders and developers will discuss current issues affecting real estate finance, development and sales.
 
NAREE University, one of the conference’s main elements, will offer journalism workshops and discussion groups focusing on the new age of journalism from social media sources and outlets to multimedia blogging.
 
“The amount of information this conference offers is incredible,” says Kris Hudson, 2013 NAREE president and Wall Street Journal reporter. “When writing about real estate, one has to cover several facets of the industry, and the NAREE Journalism Conference touches on them all.”
 
Conference chairman and NAREE board member, Matt Valley, says the annual conference is a great resource for real estate journalists. “Reporters and editors who attend will leave Atlanta with several stories and many story ideas on national trends,” says Valley, editorial director of France Media's regional commercial real estate magazines and a journalist who has been covering the industry for 18 years.
 
Conference sessions will include topics such as the housing market and sustainability, multi-family development, walkability, vacation homes, mortgages, residential brokerage, hotels, shopping center development, and more.
 
Atlanta, home to the busiest airport in the world, boasts CNN Studios, the World of Coca-Cola Museum, Centennial Olympic Park, as well as other landmarks and global corporations.
 
Mary Doyle-Kimball, executive director of NAREE, said Atlanta’s active development scene and lively atmosphere make the city an ideal host. “I’m thrilled experts in the field will be able to exchange ideas in such a vibrant city,” says Doyle-Kimball. “The conference offers a networking experience for journalists and communications professionals that is unmatched in the industry. NAREE is a network beyond its name, and that can truly be seen in this event.”
 
One of the conference’s highlights will be NAREE's 17th Annual Meet the Press held Friday, June 7. The event matches editors and journalists with publicists and freelancers to discuss topics in real estate reporting during quick, three-minute interviews. Winners of the 63rd Annual Real Estate Journalism Competition and the Bruss Real Estate Book Awards will also be unveiled during the conference.
 
NAREE is open to all journalists, authors, editors and communicators covering the broad field of real estate. Register for the conference online at http://www.NAREE.org.
 
The NAREE Conference will be headquartered at the Hilton Atlanta in downtown, 255 Courtland St NE Atlanta, GA 30303. For hotel reservations call 800-HILTONS and ask for the low "NAREE Rate" of $149.
 
The conference will begin at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, June 5 and end Saturday, June 8 by noon.
 
About NAREE:
Celebrating 84 years of service to journalists—covering residential, commercial and financial real estate, home and urban design, and green building—NAREE helps members advance their careers as editors, staff writers columnists, freelancers, bloggers and authors. Founded in 1929, the organization has 650 members nationwide.
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CONTACTS: Mary Doyle-Kimball, 561-391-3599, [email protected]
Tony Wilbert, 404-965-5022, [email protected]

It's Atlanta! City to Host 2013 Real Estate Journalism Conference

DENVER (June 22, 2012) - Atlanta's real estate market will get the chance to shine next June when the nation's top residential and commercial scribes descend on the city.

The National Association of Real Estate Editors, or NAREE, voted unanimosuly late last week to hold its annual Journalism Conference in Atlanta. Kris Hudson, who covers hotels and retail real estate, will be president of NAREE when the conference is held in Atlanta. (The board and I are pictured at left.)

Each NAREE Journalism Conference features keynotes and panels with national and local industry executives, researchers and government agencies.

Wilbert News Strategies was Platinum Sponsor of NAREE 2012 and used the conference as the backdrop to promote our expanded Experts Guide, an online resource for journalists seeking sources. (See photo below.)

In Denver, Mayor Michael B. Hancock welcomed this year's NAREE attendees in an engaging off-the-cuff chat about his city and why it is the nation's top construction market right now.

Mayor Hancock bragged about the expansive size of Denver International Airport and its ranking as the world's fifth-busiest airport by aircraft movements (10th based on passenger traffic). As Hancock said these words, we imagined Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed ready to boast about Atlanta's ranking as the world's busiest airport - period.

In addition to being a major travel hub, Atlanta is a real estate town. I helped write the bid to bring NAREE 2013 to Atlanta, and here was part of my argument:

Atlanta is a real estate town like no other. It’s home to Beazer Homes, John Wieland Homes, Post Properties, Gables Residential Trust, Cousins Properties, InterContinental Group and several other large homebuilders, commercial development firms and hospitality companies. Moreover, several large German syndicators such as Jamestown and KanAm USA are based in Atlanta.

Real estate developers such as Tom Cousins (Cousins Properties), John Portman, John Wieland, Horst Schulze/William B. Johnson (founders of Ritz-Carlton brand, Capella Hotels and Resorts) and John Williams (Post Properties) helped build metro Atlanta into a major metropolitan area. The saying in Atlanta goes like this, “Real estate is to Atlanta what cars are to Detroit.”

NAREE director Matt Valley, based in Atlanta with France Media Inc., presented our bid to the board Friday, and WSJ's Hudson made the motion that passed without an opposition.

We look forward to working with NAREE on the 2013 conference and having the influential group in Atlanta.