Long gone are the days of build it and they will come or just get the listing and it will sell. We all realize that real estate is cyclical in nature and booms and busts are just part of the natural process. Just like in any economic ecosystem old ways and can quickly become obsolete and those who refuse to embrace change can quickly become extinct or at a minimum find themselves on an endangered species list.  As always with the winds of change come the seeds of opportunity and early adopters can expect to benefit from the initial abundance that is created from our current market recession.

In order to better position yourself to benefit from our local market slowdown the following are some ideas that other commercial real estate professionals focus on in down markets:

1.      Get Creative – Do your own homework don’t just copy the same unoriginal format of the property next to yours. Think outside the box and don’t be afraid to try new ideas. Remember that each property is unique and no two uses are exactly the same. Pay close attention to your neighborhoods and seek out the little hidden gems that lie within them. Discover ways your property can better serve the needs the local sub market.  Research the needs of your patrons and what services can be offered to them.  You can gain a lot of invaluable information by simply surveying the clientele in a particular market to find out what they want you’ll be surprised at the effectiveness of such a simple but often overlooked technique.

2.     Think In The End User Perspective – Success in real estate sales can be directly related to understanding the perspectives of all the parties in the deal. One common mistake made by real estate professionals is becoming self promoted and looking at a property from only one point of view; their own. They say to themselves, “my property is beautiful and it has such great potential everyone will want to buy it” this type of thinking can easily misrepresent the reality of the marketplace. Beautiful properties with all the potential in the world don’t always make good economic sense for the end-user. At the end of day investors by property to make money and having fun and feeling good are all byproducts of the same.  Before devising a strategy to effectively market your property start with the following questions: Why would an investor want to buy my property? How will the investor or end user make money with my property? Remember just as jobs support our national economy end users support our local real estate economy as well.

3.      Add Value – Add value to the deal process take the time to consider ways to make the deal easier for your potential investor buyer. Give investors enough essential data to be able to make an informed decision on your property. Run the numbers present an analysis of costs, risks and potential return on investment.  Take high quality photographs of your property and take pictures of important surrounding properties that add synergistic value to your own. Put together a quality presentation that will create a positive image of you as a professional and for your property as well. These types of project modifiers will go a long way in removing potential constraints to getting your deals done.

So are you ready to successfully ride the winds of change and embrace the inevitable or will you sit on the sidelines with a wait and see attitude and run the risk of becoming obsolete or worse extinct. With change comes potential and those who are quick and creative stand the best chance to profit from the market opportunities.

What are your thoughts on using creative solutions in our local market recession?  Do you think the future of real estate in Laredo will be different in the future? Thanks for reading you are always welcome to share your comments and questions by Email atmarcus@metrocr.com