Cliches become cliches for a reason: their pithiness provokes more thought than one would expect from a string of just three to five words. That’s why I’m not ashamed to launch my favorite: change is the only constant in life, like a t-shirt cannon.
In a super-meta move, the quote itself has even changed. When the Greek philosopher Heraclitus of Ephesus introduced the quote in his book Fragments, it went, “change is the only constant.” Over the years, after small reshapings and additions, it finally settled on “change is the only constant in life.”
I don’t mean to get too esoteric about commercial real estate but come on; this is a notion that you must learn, embrace, accept, and apply. Many of us actively resist change; it’s as human as anything. Fear of change is perhaps even more constant than change itself.
If I had a dollar for every time someone asked me, “where do you think the market will be in 10 years?” I’d be retired by now. While change is inevitable and sometimes ineffable, I’m here to assure you don’t have to go into fight or flight mode and make reactions rather than decisions.
Unless we all go into large underground bunkers to plug into the matrix and escape reality, the fundamentals of commercial real estate will always be the same. Yes, things will shift, but the underlying principles and fundamentals will still be there. People need food, shelter, and water to survive. Sparacino Realty Advisors specialize in shelter. When it comes to meeting Maslov’s hierarchy of needs, we’re pretty essential, right there below food and water (which is an industrial matter that I’m happy to not have any hand in). Everything else is the occupation of time passing with death promised to us all –– and I’ve made peace with that.
While change is unavoidable, fundamentals are even more important; buying good dirt, not over-levering, eliminating interest-rate risk, stabilizing at a good basis, developing a product with inherent competitive advantages (price point, location, product etc.), and maintaining significant reserves.
None of these concepts are new or novel, but they’re necessary to integrate into your decision-making. Adopt the obvious: change is the only constant, but fundamentals matter more than anything. Know your competitive moat, and you’re golden. If you’re ready to start making informed decisions instead of frenetic reactions, fire an email to Sparacino Realty Advisors today.
