When the Market is Unpredictable: Focus on What We Can Control in Developing Real Estate
Thanks to BIV and Kirk LaPointe for the invitation to join a great panel, topic and event! Joined by Cynthia Jaggar, Scott Brown and James Lang we discussed tactics to surviving the slump in the market (article link below). Diverse viewpoints always make a rich discussion!
Below are some key points from my perspective on "surviving the real estate slump". The central tenant is this: The market is always unpredictable. So it makes enormous sense to focus on what we can control and do it with a laser-sharp strategy and a comprehensive approach. Here is why and how we need to do things differently now:
1. Aside from the softening market, there are many factors increasing complexities in real estate development. It is arguably one of the most challenging times to develop real estate right now, and these challenges are mounting in almost all mid to large sized cities. The mounting challenges stem from: more complex site conditions, layered and costly municipal policies, increasing community opposition, political uncertainty, lengthy and uncertain approvals processes, increasing hard and soft costs, and so on. We can, and now need to, do much better at gaining control on all of these issues.
2. Business as usual approach to development will no longer work in today's realities.
3. It is in the early stages of the development process where the majority of the risks can be identified and managed, where the majority of the project value is created and where key opportunities for increasing success can be locked down. These opportunities exist in these early stages of the development process, and must be realized at the outset, long before a shovel hits the ground.
4. Bringing a laser-sharp strategy and comprehensive approach to these early stages of the development process is a proven way for us to gain control of these challenges and complexities, ensure overall success for projects and companies to survive in these current challenging conditions.
This topic was timely and of great interest to me, as we have recently developed an unparalleled 7-point real estate development framework based on 20 years of experience leading award-winning projects, that brings an analytical tool and process proven to unlock value early in the development process, increasing certainty while mitigating risks to ensure overall success. We are very excited about our proven approach and expertise, and the impacts that it has already been proving with clients including:
-achieving some of the most expeditious and best executed approvals processes for complex rezonings and OCP processes in the history of certain municipalities
-unlocking and advancing a challenging masterplan project in 6 months that clients spent over a decade and significant investment trying to move forward many times.
Just a few examples of what we are accomplishing with our clients.
Reach out to learn more. We would love to hear from you:
Carla@purposedrivenroi.com
www.purposedrivenroi.com
BIV article recap of the event:
https://biv.com/article/2019/04/patience-perspective-key-surviving-real-estate-slump