For owners, operators, and developers of commercial real estate, 2007 will be remembered for the serious changes that have taken place in “the rules of the game.”

The turmoil in the credit markets resulted in a decrease in transactions in the fourth quarter and gave further credence to the expression “cash is king” when purchasing an asset. In addition, the market started to reward “relationship banking,” and investors who failed to maintain excellent relationships with their investment bankers and balance sheet lenders had few places to go to secure financing.

Over the course of the holiday season, members of the real estate community banded together to commiserate on the turbulent year past and discuss what could be the next industry phenomenon: that real estate investors increasingly will seek to raise their own real estate investment funds.

A number of successful real estate investors were fortunate during the last year of discontent to have public and corporate retirement funds, foreign investors, and high net worth individuals commit to provide funding for both funds and joint ventures.

The New York City-based real estate investment and development firm Savanna Partners was one such investor. The company raised close to $400 million in its Savanna Real Estate Fund I, LP, which is seeking a 17% return. As reported in Institutional Investor, one of the first investors was the California Public Employees’ Retirement System, which committed $75 million.

Savanna, which has been in operation since 1992, invests opportunistically in real estate assets located in the Northeast Corridor. Earlier this year, a joint venture of Savanna and the City Investment Fund acquired the 162,500-square-foot Children’s Wear Building at 131 W. 33rd St. for $43 million. In October, the joint venture sold the building to Time Equities for about $70 million. Savanna and City Investment also are converting the upper floors of 141 Fifth Ave. into residential condominiums.

In November, the Savanna Real Estate Fund purchased the development site at 415 Eighth Ave. on the southwest corner of 30th Street, where it plans to build a 100,000-square-foot residential and retail building. The property is currently being used as a parking lot and sits across from the James Farley Post Office, Madison Square Garden, and Penn Station.

This year was a wonderful one for Taconic Investment Partners, a real estate investment company that has acquired and redeveloped more than 10 million square feet of office, residential, and mixed use properties in New York, Chicago, and Washington, D.C. Founders Paul Pariser and Charles Bendit had a very active second half of the year, raising their own funds and buying and selling significant assets in New York City.

On October 29, Taconic and the New York State Common Retirement Fund sold the 325,000-square-foot office tower at 450 Park Ave. to Somerset Partners LLC for $509 million, or $1,566 a square foot, the highest recorded price per square foot for an American office tower.

Another new active player is Square Mile Capital LLC, a diversified real estate investment firm that focuses on sourcing and managing real estate and related equity, debt, and hybrid investments on behalf of select institutional and private investors. A few weeks ago, Taconic Investment Partners and Square Mile Capital closed on the purchase of the 1 millionsquare-foot office condominium building at 375 Pearl St. For $172.5 million, the joint venture also acquired 29 stories in the 32-story Verizon building, where it plans an extensive renovation to the tower.

Earlier, Square Mile, along with Latus Partners and Tribeca Associates, signed a 99-year ground lease with Trinity Real Estate for 330 Hudson St., a former printing building in TriBeCa. The joint venture plans to redevelop the property into a luxury boutique hotel, class A office space, and retail.

This fall, a real estate company owned and operated by Ofer Yardeni and Joel Seiden, Stonehenge Partners, raised a $660 million fund to purchase real estate in New York City. According to Mr. Yardeni, six foreign investors provided money for the new fund. This summer, Stonehenge paid $39 million for the seven-story, 90,000-square-foot residential rental apartment building at 330 E. 63rd St. In November, Stonehenge went into contract to purchase the 21-story, 165-unit residential rental building at 360 E. 65th St. for approximately $130 million.

Also in November, a joint venture of Stonehenge and Dallasbased Invesco Real Estate purchased the 177,000-square-foot Brill Building at 1619 Broadway for about $151 million. The seller was a joint venture of Westbrook Partners and Murray Hill Properties, which purchased the building a year earlier for about $92 million, according to CoStar Realty Information.

One of the most active purchasers of commercial office property in New York City is Murray Hill Properties. During the last few years, Murray Hill has raised a number of real estate investment funds. This fall, Murray Hill and investor David Werner paid $120.5 million, or $1,100 a square foot, for the 132,000-square-foot office building at 1414 Sixth Ave. The seller was APF Properties, which purchased the building in 2005 from SL Green Realty for $60.5 million.

Earlier this month, the Related Companies, instead of raising a fund, received equity and debt investments of nearly $1.4 billion from the investment arm of the Abu Dhabi government and others. Goldman Sachs and MSD Capital LP bought 7.5% equity stakes in Related, while international companies, including an affiliate of Mubadala Development of Abu Dhabi and the Olayan Group, made debt investments.

The real estate investor Larry Silverstein preferred to co-invest as opposed to raising a real estate investment fund. Earlier this month, the Paramount Group sold the 50-story Americas Tower at 1177 Sixth Ave. to Metro Fund LLC, a joint venture of Silverstein Properties and the California State Teachers’ Retirement System. The building was sold for about $1 billion, or $1,000 a square foot. Silverstein has partnered with the California State Teachers’ Retirement System before, including the $170 million purchase of 99 Church St., the former headquarters of Moody’s, and the 35-story, 600,000-square-foot office tower at 575 Lexington Ave., which it bought for $400 million, or $665 a square foot. According to published reports, the partnership provides Silverstein Properties with up to $2 billion in buying power to be used for acquisitions in the metropolitan area.

As we enter 2008, expect real estate investors to look for opportunities to reach out to institutional institutions to fund real estate investment funds and joint venture opportunities.

Mr. Stoler, a contributing editor of The New York Sun, is a television and radio broadcaster and a senior principal at a real estate investment fund. He can be reached at mstoler@newyorkrealestatetv.com.