I’ve got some bad news and good news

The bad news: we’re seeing lots of hysteria among bankers and developers right now.

The good news: we’re seeing lots of hysteria among bankers and developers right now.

Yes, hysteria can be a GOOD thing. It sure beats the paralysis, denial and blaming we saw so much of in the first half of the year.

HYSTERIA breeds ACTION, because hysteria doesn’t mess around. Hysteria knows that doing nothing spells disaster.

The action to take right now is to actively KNOW THYSELF. Hold up a new mirror. Forget your stories, biases and pre-conceived ideas of what your property is and what it’s capable of doing. Throw away your old pro forma. Everything is different now.

Deals today either have hope or they don’t. If you’re still living with a wait-and-see attitude, now is the time to step up and say no more.

You have three options:

1. Stay the course while making adjustments. Look at your property as if it’s new. Rethink your product and your market and make it work. The buying base is out there and it’s so damn narrow. Look at it with a microscope, because like an uber-virus it keeps changing and morphing. Who’s actually buying? Do we have the right amenities? What should our pricing be?

2. Radical adaptation: a condo becomes a rental building. A hotel becomes a condo. Take a fresh look at what you have to work with. What efforts and infrastructure can you  SALVAGE and parlay into a new kind of property?

3. Cut your losses. Unleash this puppy and move on. It’s sad, but it’s better than doing nothing. The earlier you accept defeat, the easier it is to minimize the damage. You’ll be happier afterwards, like a weight has been lifted and you can plot a new course, having maximized your outcome.

Your product is either a 1, 2 or a 3. If you don’t know which, you’re not alone. We’ve been all over – projects from the South Loop to the Gold Coast, from Boston to Idaho both downtown and burbs – helping people discover if their project is a one, two or three, and helping them plot a course. They’re sick of being in the dark. “Know thyself,” is becoming very popular.

Find a third party to hold up a mirror. My partners and I used to work on the development side of the deal with big companies with huge portfolios. That’s where we learned the business. WE GET IT. We’re wired to make your problems our problems.

If you can’t use us, find someone like us – seasoned site advocates, not a mere brokerage with broad listings and a sales-only mindset. If you have a question or just want some clarity, post a comment or contact me. That’s what this blog is all about.

Embrace the hysteria, folks. ’09 is coming to a close. The future of real estate belongs to those who dare to be self-aware RIGHT NOW and perform the proper analysis and diagnostics needed to move boldly forward.

Good luck and Godspeed,

Garry

For more information on Garrison Partners’ services, please visit www.GarrisonPartners.com