In the early 1990s, I was doing extensive research in the DFW Real Estate markets.  One 6 month period, I was focusing on the M-street section of the market-  the area east of Central Expressway centering around Mockingbird Lane to White Rock Lake.  At that time, the Resolution Trust was active in the area and we could have purchased any property, residential or commercial, for $25 sq/ft.  In 2022, those properties are highly developed and routinely sell for $250 sq. ft.  10x is not a bad return for a long term, low risk hold that cash flows into your pocket every month. 

Seeing trends, doing in depth research, and identifying opportunities before others is what Custom Private Equity specializes in.

For example, in the first 6 months of 2007, I was spending considerable time doing research on the Medical City area of Houston, Texas.  The Astrodome had recently closed, and a new arena had been built on the southern edge of the Medical District.  The medical center was bustling, as it always does.  During my research we identified each owner of property in the Medical Center and contacted them inquiring about their future plans. My team identified several properties that could be purchased for $10 to $20 per sq foot.  At that time, there were about 2000 living quarters, apartments and townhomes, in the Medical Center.  In 2022, there are closer to 12,000 townhomes and apartments and raw land sells for $100 sq. ft.  We consider this an acceptable return on our investment and a good use of our research dollars.