In Cambodia, my construction sites have been turned into bare-ground, temporary, annual lease sites. I am lucky under the circumstances. My property values here, in quality locations, remain strong. However, a very humbling 2% ROI looks to be my income on these parcels for the foreseeable future.
As for Washington State, in the United States; neither Wolf Creek Ranch nor Lookout Mountain Ranch will go on the market as planned, Spring 2009. Instead, emphasis will be landscape development. In better days, I would have left this to a new owner, but in these tough times, I can improve, relatively inexpensively, compared to a year ago, provide jobs and make these properties more profitable and appealing in the year(s) ahead.
In good times and bad, real-estate development has been inherently delicate and risky business. I have kept this fact forefront in my mind from day-one. It has been my personal mantra not to invest (besides U.S. Muni-Bonds & T-Bills) in anything that would lessen my lifestyle if all my real-estate developments were to fail. And failed they haven't. Instead, they are, 'on-hold', debt-free and stable.
Times appear to becoming tougher and by all appearances are likely to get worse before getting better. The Obama resolve appears to me to be the United States diving head-long into European socialism models. Socialism kills innovation and innovation has been Americas bread and butter. Innovation has made the United States the strongest country in the world to date.
Global recession/depression is a first for humanity. We have never encountered this before. Like a very bad traffic accident, we didn't fully see it coming and injuries were far greater than expected.
What to do now?
Governments have taken the stance, 'well, we don't know what to do, but we need to do something'. Along came government, 'helping-hands' to bridge the gap.
There is not enough government money (individually or collectively) to make life on earth suddenly pretty.
Free enterprise got us into this mess, a better healed private enterprise will lead us out.
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