What is it about the three to four week period between Thanksgiving and Christmas?
It is a time to be jolly, but the time between turkey dinners can also mean more than a full belly.
How about a full plate!?!
So here we are in the midst of this “Wonderful Time of the Year!”
Preparing for this endearing (or is the word “enduring?”) period in the lives we Americans annually impose upon ourselves, the heat is turned up slowly through a couple phases in the months leading up to “decking the halls with boughs of holly.”
There is the period between the end of August and Halloween. For most, it is a time to settle in as best you can after the summer heat subsides and family vacations.
Ah, but then the issue of getting the kids prepared for school, fall clean up, the end of the baseball season, the start of football season and fall events that reconnect us with friends.
The next phase delivers another level of intensity as Thanksgiving approaches and people start realizing that the that season of giving is quickly approaching … not to mention the end of the year. Some, but not most actually take action during this period.
… and then reality sets in and before that Thanksgiving turkey is fully digested it seems that rat race starts with a bang …
Yes, Black Friday began this year at 8:00 PM on Thursday!
For most, stress levels increase across the board. Some take the wise approach and make a list in advance, while others procrastinate and sprint to the finish line.
Of course, as most Christmas shoppers know, the intensity level of that stress grows with the length of the to-do list … and as the countdown gets into single digits of days and then just hours.
All those decorations … and the tree!
In addition many people look at the close of the year as a time to plan and take action toward goals for the New Year.
For business owners and investors decisions around divesting or expanding their commercial real estate portfolio will often make that to-do list, as well.
If a property has been on the market for the last several months (or years, as the case may be), an owner uses this “season” to re-evaluate their marketing strategy. That may mean making a change in the asking price or doing something radical as selecting a new commercial real estate broker.
For others this becomes a time to set the stage for initiating a plan of action that will kick off in the coming year.
Zeroing in the what’s been happening within the walls of MacRo, Ltd., activity has been brisk with a record number of closings taking place in this month of December … at a rate of one per working day, while the coordinating of all this can be stressful, we sure aren’t complaining!
At the same time meetings with new clients who have made the decision to move forward with projects that have sat idle for years are clearly on the upswing.
While I’m sure this a trend that the industry is experiencing “in merry measure,” it does make this “the season to be jolly!”
Lest we not forget that amidst the annual stress we endure in one shape or another, this is an important time to gather with friends and family to share, reflect and rejoice.
So be safe these next two weeks, take a few deep breaths each day …
PLEASE drive carefully … and whatever you do, don’t accelerate at a STOP sign unless the car in front of you makes that decision first!
Like I did today … A fender bender that no one needed.
Fa la la la la, la la la la
The author: Rocky Mackintosh, President, MacRo, Ltd., a Land and Commercial Real Estate firm based in Frederick, Maryland. Many of his articles also appear in TheTentacle.com