While 2009 has been a year most would like to forget, the question on seemingly everyone’s mind as the year draws to a close is what 2010 will hold in store? There has been incessant talk about if and when in the coming year the commercial shoe will drop. Another popular subject is the possibility of a double dip in the recession.Regardless, the key word for 2010 will be Opportunity. Having just seen Sherlock Holmes one of the lines that stood out was when Holmes explained to the chief of police that, “You seem to never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity.” This is worth keeping in mind as the new year commences. Opportunity currently and will continue to exist in urban centers in many forms. Development as we knew it, as in suburban sprawl, is dead. However, a restored focus on urban infill has come to the forefront of significance for projects moving forward. The buzz words these days include transit-oriented development, green building and mixed-use. Urban centers where the words commute and traffic become arcane notions, will certainly improve the quality of life for all those who choose its path. Reduction in pollution and energy costs and increases in efficiency all seem to make sense given the position where our economy and ultimately our planet seem to be at the current time.
The major markets have been slammed but should be the first to recover. Hotels can be picked up on the cheap as many of the adjustable rate mortgages come due or become to great a strain for the debt coverage to bear. Infill land, purchased with development dream dollars and now facing a high interest rate and no offsetting income reality, will be a longer term pick-up but should at the very least provide a cheaper and safe investment for the longer term.  Industrial property in urban centers is attractive for either owner users, investors with a user or for adaptive reuse for multiple uses. These represent just a few of the possibilities out there.

It looks as if 2010 will force us all to get back to the basics. Presently, liquidity remains key, yet missing out on opportunity in the here and now will come with the same feelings we are experiencing as it relates to why we bought what we bought at the peak of the market or why we didn’t sell when we could have sold at the peak. The zenith is past us yet we seem to be closely approaching the nadir (if not already there). This opportunity won’t last forever nor will our downtrodden economy. Whether or not a 2010 recovery is imminent probably no one knows. Yet there is no question that 2010 Opportunity is present and waiting to be accounted for.