All-Weather Deals: Why I Don’t Panic in Down Markets or Get Stupid in Booms

My real estate strategy is boring. On purpose. I don’t “shift with the market.” I don’t reinvent myself every time a headline gets spicy. I stay methodical. Always. Expenses are always tight. Not tight when things get scary and not loose when everyone’s high-fiving at the closing table. Tight. Period. When the market slows, I don’t clutch my pearls and start cutting corners. And when the market’s booming, I don’t suddenly forget how math works. I don’t assume appreciation will save me, or that “this time is different” because someone on a podcast said so with a lot of confidence and a ring light. Every deal gets built the same way. Done right the first time. Real numbers, not aura. And at least two real exits, actual exits, not “we’ll just refi if rates magically drop and everyone behaves responsibly.” Refinance. Sell. Hold. If a deal only works when the stars align and nothing goes wrong, that’s not an investment, that’s a pep rally. Boom times don’t make me braver. They just let me buy more of the same kind of deals. Slow times don’t make me desperate. They just reward discipline a little faster. The playbook doesn’t change, only the pace. The math stays the math. The tactics stay the tactics. The standards don’t get “relaxed” because the market feels friendly this quarter. Every deal has to work in all weather. If it can survive higher rates, slower demand, rising costs, and the occasional human mistake, great, we’re talking. If it needs momentum, optimism, and a forgiving market to stay alive, I wish it well on its journey with someone else. Consistency isn’t sexy. It doesn’t trend well on social media. But it’s how you build something real, without needing the market to clap for you every step of the way.