Page 39 - Trump University Commercial Real Estate 101

Ho w to Read a Market

When Jobs Become the Engine

For a city or town to move to a Buyers ’ Market, Phase II — the next
phase in the cycle — its leaders must do something to increase employ-
ment opportunities. When jobs are created, people begin to migrate
back into a community, population increases, vacant spaces begin to
fill, and at last rents once again begin to climb.

In order to attract job growth, the first necessary element is strong

local leadership. If local government is not committed to change —
or if its only activity is fi nger - pointing about who ’ s to blame for the
lousy economy — the area will continue to wallow in a Buyers ’ Market,
Phase I.
Each city has a master plan to guide it to the next round of growth.
City leadership creates the plan to facilitate growth. To get your own
copy of the master plan, call the local economic development commit-
tee and speak with a local official. He will be happy to talk with you

and tell you about all the wonderful things in the city that are happen-
ing, or soon will be. He knows the city needs investors like you in
order to spark the next round of growth.
You must be cautious when viewing the master plan, though. First
determine when it was last updated. Is it fresh, or is it one of those
documents that took time and energy to compile, but no one pays any
attention to?
If it was written ten years ago and has not been updated, city lead-
ership is not proactive.
Next, determine whether the city has actually taken action on the
plan. A continuously updated plan that never comes to fruition is
simply a work of fi ction.
In the plan, you should see many areas that are labeled revitaliza-

tion zones . These are usually downtrodden areas filled with obsolete
buildings. The city usually creates a plan to spur business growth and
development in these areas. They can be great places to invest, but

only if the city has spent significant money to make its plan a reality,
and is clearly taking action.

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