The focus of most panelists at ULI’s Latin America Conference, held in late October, was on the stronger markets, including Mexico, Colombia, Peru, and Chile. There also was optimism about a turnaround in Brazil with the upcoming Summer Olympic Games in 2016 and Argentina’s most recent election. Just this past week, the Wall Street Journal reported that investor George Soros had committed to investing $300 million in an expansion of an Argentine company’s hotel properties.

The conference was held in Miami, jointly organized by ULI Mexico and ULI Southeast Florida and the Caribbean. A few of the topics discussed included:

What is working. A strong U.S. dollar, coupled with a growing endemic demand for tourism for the region’s growing middle class, has investors optimistic about hotel development. Particularly in Mexico, publicly traded structures like real estate investment trusts (REITs) known as FIBRAs are helping provide liquidity and boost demand for product types. Gutiérrez said, “Business hotels are doing well in secondary markets with a limited-service model, and REITs provide liquidity.” Debt financing is largely unknown given the history of high interest rates. Gutiérrez noted that northern Mexico is producing 3.5 million cars per year. “Industrial is booming,” said Gutierrez. “The working-age population in Mexico is increasing, but you didn’t see apartments in Mexico until recently,” said Gutiérrez. “Either you bought a house or you didn’t have place to live.” The focus on single-family homes has increased sprawl and gridlock, with José Shabot, director general of builder Quiero Casa, saying, “Opportunity remains for more density in places like Mexico City.” Arturo López, chief investment officer of movie theater developer Cinnepolis, said, “There’s a lot of opportunity in mixed use—transforming industrial areas that already have the infrastructure for transport and water.”