By Stephanie Guzman, Reporter for Albuquerque Business First:

Each year, thousands of real estate brokers head to Las Vegas for a big retail conference where they can make deals and yes, have a little fun too.

The conference is hosted by the International Council of Shopping Centers, and includes panels featuring heavy hitters in the real estate industry, including basketball star-turned-real estate mogul Magic Johnson, and developers introducing brand new concepts.

The conference teaches brokers about trends in the industry. And most important, it allows local brokers to make contact with big brands, from chain restaurants to clothing retailers.

Clayton King, an Albuquerque broker with NAI Maestas and Ward, said he took a lot of meetings with new-to-market concepts. He attended the conference with his colleagues including Brett Hills, Thalia Toha and Keith Meyer.

"All my meetings were positive. Four or five years ago, companies were saying, 'Not Albuquerque. Not New Mexico. We're not there yet.' At this show it was very much the opposite," King said.

National Real Estate Investor reported many brokers who attended the conference noted secondary and tertiary markets, such as Albuquerque, are seeing renewed interest as they are "ripe targets for mixed-use development."

Brokers and developers representing Winrock Town Center, which is being revamped into a new shopping experience, said they received positive feedback from potential tenants.

Darin Sand, vice president of development with Goodman Realty Group, said he attended some professional development classes and met with developers working on other major redevelopment projects throughout the U.S.

"It's great for us to talk to people from all over the country and learn what they're doing," Sand said. "We can compare them to Winrock and look at their layouts and parking and whether they're doing town centers too. It was nice to see that what we're doing is on the cutting edge."

Sand said he attended the conference with Goodman Realty Group's Gary Goodman and Colette Wharton, as well as the team from Pegasus Retail.

Of course, not everything in real estate is cheery. Real estate experts said while some retailers are expanding once again, others are downsizing or closing all together.

Sports Authority confirmed this week it was closing all its locations. The retailer has two locations in Albuquerque, including one at the Winrock Town Center.

"Retail has massive changes coming to it both in sizing and more importantly, philosophy," said Bob Feinberg, a retail expert with Colliers International who has brought many new-to-market retailers to Albuquerque. Click here to read the full article.