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In a letter to the editor, the associate state director for the Trust for Public Land makes an interesting point about real estate pricing and opportunities. Andrew McLeod petitions the state government to use the real estate slowdown to buy land for public use while prices are lower.

Obviously this is a self serving editorial by McLeod, but the letter should illustrate a larger point to real estate professionals. Even while housing is slow in the state and the real estate industry is in the doldrums, opportunities arise for those who are paying attention. We all love to sit by the water cooler bemoaning the current situation, that is human nature.

It is the real go-getters that see downturns as opportunities. The governor of Florida has put together a 100 million dollar pool to potentially buy land for preservation. Are there any properties in your area that could fit this profile? Even folks who may not have sold to a developer may sell to the state if the land will be preserved. And these sales always have commissions attached.

My point is that no matter what the market is, there is opportunity for those who will seize it. While everyone else is complaining that their are no more fish to shoot in the barrel, go over to the ocean with a fishing pole and make your fortune. It will always be there.

The governor, who this year proposed another $100 million for the Florida Forever land acquisition program, said, “If there are other innovative ways that we can make these purchases while the land’s a little less expensive, in the long term it’s good for Florida.” Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink suggested that the Department of Environmental Protection look into “creative” and “financially prudent” ways to buy more land now. Attorney General Bill McCollum added that we should buy now and “figure out how to manage it later.”
A brief dip in the real-estate market represents a great savings opportunity for the state. With strategic land-buying now, we can forever protect key open-space parcels that surely will be lost when prices begin to rise again, as they will. via the Palm Beach Post

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