On June 28, 2000, a conference titled "The Real Estate Sector in the 21st Century" was held at Istanbul Swissotel. The conference, which was attended by 450 top-level participants, 4 media sponsors, and 7 sponsors, was a success and gave us the courage to organize conferences in the future, while strengthening the position of the association and the REIT sector within the real estate industry. The opening speech of the conference was delivered by the Minister of Finance, Sümer Oral. Former Deputy Prime Minister Murat Karayalçın, Istanbul Metropolitan Mayor Ali Müfit Gürtuna, SPK President Prof. Dr. Muhsin Mengütürk, TOKI President Kamil Uğurlu, General Director of National Real Estate Doğan Cansızlar, GRI President Henri Alster, and 24 leading names from the sector participated as speakers. At the summit, expectations and issues related to the future of the real estate sector were discussed. In his opening speech, Sümer Oral focused on the issue of squatting, one of the main problems of major cities.