The dodo (raphus cucullatus) was a flightless bird native to the island of Mauritius. It stood about a metre tall, weighed about 20kg, lived on fruit and nested on the ground. The dodo has been extinct since the mid-to-late 17th century. It is commonly used as the archetype of an extinct species because its extinction occurred during recorded human history and was directly attributable to human activity. The phrase “to go the way of the dodo” means to become extinct or obsolete, to fall out of common usage or practice, or to become a thing of the past.
One of the first things that stuck out at the recent REIW Asia conference in Singapore was the sponsorship. Gone were the days when the large global banks occupied the top rungs of the sponsorship banner, hosted multiple tables at the awards dinner and anchored the key speaking slots. Sure, there were other noticeable changes such as the reduced number of participants and the absence of Indian developers. But as to the missing banks, was this temporary or had the world of private equity real estate shifted?
Discussions with institutional investors, pension funds, fund of funds managers and consultants across the globe suggest that a new model is emerging. This new model is arising in response to the weaknesses in the old model that were laid bare by the global financial crisis.
