Emerging real estate markets can be found in the most unlikely of places, even in a major market downturn or financial crisis. One of the most promising areas of development today is the rural market.

Rural Markets have small or regionalized levels of market participation; typically less than 50,000 participants or a very limited level of economic drivers, such as a single or very dominant employer. Also known as "prairie markets," these markets have very specific and entrenched - and at times, not so obvious - socio-political and economic elements that have to be assessed and addressed in a non-traditional way. The pulse of the community being considered requires non-linear analysis techniques that do not fit the typical builder Pro Forma and absorption models.

For example, micro-economic forces tend to have bigger impacts in small communities, especially as the economies of scale become substantially reduced. Expansion of a large employer or an innovation in a particular industry can be all it takes for boom in the local economy and real estate market, regardless of what is

happening nationwide. The reverse also can result in retraction or collapse. It is important to understand the double--edge sword that is rural or “prairie” markets and the opportunities and challenges they present.

SAF-America and American Dream Development specializes in the assessment of factors that permeate and influence rural market viability, including Opportunity Identification and Assessment, Development and Product Need Determination, Risk/Feasibility Projections and Socio-Political Environmental Climatology.