I was speaking the other day with Peter Gooding, an Olson client who developed LV Ranch Estates in Prescott (

www.lvranchestates.com) and founded Pilot Asset Management (www.pilotasset.com). Pilot is a recession-made business, created to help banks and lenders determine how to best minimize risk and maximize value on residential land, much of which is landing in the laps of folks who don't know up from down when it comes to development-minded land management. Prescott, Arizona's LV Ranch Estates, which opened sales on Phase II in fall 2007, is a private residential enclave where the freedom of the West is found and felt on parcels stretching 36 to 51 acres. Sustainable building is a possibility here, and access to nature is exceptional. 

Given the economic climate, you'd assume only Pilot could be doing well. But you know what they say about assuming… The reality is both entities are doing well — LV Ranch Estates, surprisingly so. Gooding has moved nine homesteads in 90 days. All have sold at prices in the $300,000s.

How is Gooding getting a paralyzed market to rise from its chair and walk?

Gooding, who has been in real estate for 25 years, says there is nothing magical about his recipe for sales. Rather, it's a matter of good fortune and psychology. His good fortune was that he was conservative enough with his debt that he could lower prices  aggressively in November to create such a compelling value proposition that the buyer believes the price isn't going to get any lower (because it isn't) and waiting may mean losing the opportunity (and it may). The result? Urgency, followed by momentum.

But wait — lowering prices means Gooding is cutting into profits, right? True. But he's still making sales when few others are. He's a developer, and he develops land to sell it. "I don't take pride in unsold inventory," he says. 

Lastly and perhaps most notable is his message that now is when people's purchases make them money. Today, people can buy a parcel for $365,000 that they would have paid $825,000 for a year ago. And when they make that purchase, you can bet that they're also making money.

Learn more about LV Ranch Estates and recession-era opportunities by listening to Gooding on Hugh Hewitt's radio show: http://www.esnips.com/doc/69a03b9f-b300-4108-a216-3ac2f0e6c7e4/LVRE_Hugh_Hewitt.