Avatar's Blog

MegaTrends is a book by John Naisbitt first written in1982 about the trends in the US - economic, social, and statistical, that would affect the world we live in the near future. It's a quick read and probably worth your while to pick it up, even today. Naisbitt wrote another MegaTrends in 1990. He pegged a lot of the events and trends based on a review of current conditions and graph models of the trends as they already existed. And he started a trend of his own - future-think.

Future think is a worthwhile endeavor. It is said that Gates still indulges in a week alone in a secluded cabin to do nothing but think about what has come about, where things are and where they should go in the future. As a professional in the real estate market, whether as a current owner, investor, or service provider to those communities of people, is to determine what the real estate needs of the future will be, where the growths and declines are going to take place, and when.

I've been traveling in the States lately. I've been hearing folks talk as they meet new people in airports. Probably because my ear is tuned to the industry, I hear conversation snippets about real estate more than other conversations as I stroll by. But I've heard an awful lot of people talk about their own home town as the fastest growing town in (fill in the blank). Everyone is noticing the growth and construction. They are talking about infrastructure improvements and increases. To sort the truth from the chatter, check the construction projects in areas where your property exists. Take a look at the trends in the age of the population, the traffic problems that can be solved and those that simply cannot be solved - these are bottlenecks to growth and development. More people are telecommuting and doing it more often. Will this change the square footage required by companies in growth phases? Will it change the layout of the office spaces? Look at trends in fuel pricing and consider how that will affect growth in temperate climates vs severe (cold or hot) climates. How will it affect transportation patterns. You get the idea. There is a lot more to determining where the good deals are in real estate than looking at the comp next door.