Rudin, Lustig discuss possibilities for commercial real estate rebound

Bill Rudin, CEO of Rudin Management, appeared on CNBC today to discuss the state of the U.S. commercial real estate market and how it might recover over the next few years. “There’s a lot of equity around the world — a lot of people want to invest in the United States and we have to make it a little bit easier for them to bring that capital here,” Rudin said. “It’s all about capital and recapitalization…that’s the key to getting us out of these problems.” Joining Rudin in the segment was Matthew Lustig, managing director at Lazard Freres Real Estate Partners, who is advising shopping mall owner Simon Property Group on its bid to take over bankrupt rival General Growth Properties. While the public markets have rebounded, the vast majority of real estate is held privately, Lustig said, and “is still highly dysfunctional.”