Welcome to the web site of the "World's Leading Authority" on real estate and urban affairs- and I'm modest, too! My profession is THINKING GREAT THOUGHTS at the Brookings Institution in Washington and making speeches for all types of audiences, interspersed with frequent jokes October 2007 Recent events raise the question: are commercial real property markets at a turning point? The events concerned include spillovers from sub-prime lending problems in housing. The near collapse of two residential sub-prime lenders rescued by loans from owner Bear Stearns, plus bankruptcies of other sub-prime lenders, have apparently caused several big debt issues to be cancelled or reduced in size because of investors' negative reactions. Even mighty Blackstone's stock price fell below its IPO level! Is this a sea-change in the easy availability of low-yield debt that has fueled the immense run-up in commercial property prices since 2000? Read More Latest Releases "Does California Have A Rational Housing Policy?" Speech Presented at the Fisher Center Real Estate Symposium in San Francisco on November 16, 2005 "Some Aspects Of The Real Estate Outlook" Speech Presented at the Appraisal Institute in Washington D.C. on December 13, 2004 "The Challenges Of Congestion In Regional Transportation" Speech Presented at the Wagner Rudin Center of New York University, New York, New York, November 16, 2004 NOW AVAILABLE ORDER TODAY Use Anthony Downs as a Speaker for Your Group or Event Recent Provocative Thoughts My Most Recent Jokes Download A Short Bio or Photo Read My Most Recent Articles and Speeches   Contact Information Anthony Downs The Brookings Institution 1775 Massachusetts Ave NW Washington, D.C. 20036 (202) 797-6132 Fax: 6004 AnthonyDowns@csi.com Join My Mail List