“Matt Cravey, SIOR, president of Corpus Christi, Texas-based brokerage and property management firm Cravey Real Estate Services, says while the temptation may have been to pull back and wait out the pandemic, he became more competitive. “You don’t score points on defense; you score points on offense,” he says. And he impressed upon his brokers that the company would not be slowing down; if there was an obstacle, they’d simply go around or through it, whatever it took to keep the momentum going.

The world didn’t cooperate—title companies, appraisers, and banks all had to begin to adapt to a post-COVID world reality as they awaited things to stabilize. “We’re not going back to normal. This is our normal, and it always has been,” Cravey says of his 46 years in business. “Things have not always gone smoothly since I’ve been in business, and you just adapt to whatever you know, whatever situation.”

Early on, as Cravey was forging ahead and working from his office, he caught the virus and gave it to his wife and youngest daughter. Contracting COVID-19 changed his perspective on working remotely and socially distancing in the office and the field with employees and clients. “When the customer sees how we’re acting in our office, they feel more comfortable interacting with us,” he says.”

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{For Cravey it’s all a matter of “turning that stuff off and realizing there are some good opportunities.” He offers the following example: “When Carter was in office, interest rates went up to at least 18%,” he recalls. “It took us a little while to adjust to the new norm, but the next thing you know I made all kinds of money—and so did my clients—once I learned the rules of the game. Just tell me the rules, and I’ll figure out how to do it.”

He did have one “caveat,” however. “Back in the ‘80s they changed the tax laws and made them retroactive; in Texas that affected the oil business, which affected real estate, which affected banking. Everything went down in Texas. So, the biggest fear when I operate is, ‘Are they talking about anything that’s retroactive?’”

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From where he sits in Corpus Christi, Cravey says, “Everyone feels good about the future. When you get a vacant store in a building it does not sit very long.”

Of course, the city seems to have a lot going for it. “We have over $60 billion worth of plants and projects under construction,” says Cravey, noting that one is a $13 billion joint venture between Saudi Arabia and Exxon.

“We’re taking advantage of the cheap natural gas that comes down here,” he says. “Materials went up when Hurricane Harvey hit, and they haven’t gone down. We have a shortage of concrete because of all these new plants.”

But the city has prepared well for the future. A billion-dollar bridge was built, the port was widened, and the specs mirrored those of the Panama Canal. “Our port was smart enough to realize what specs to use, how high the bridge should be, and how wide and deep to make the port,” he says.

But he is not without caution. In fact, he shares, “When [customers are] selling now, I say instead of doing a 1031 exchange it may be better to pay the taxes and have cash.” Still, he insists, “Opportunities will come up when they start messing with things. Most everyone who’s been in this business any length of time believes politicians can’t leave things alone—but every time, it creates opportunities.”

And the tariffs? “The attitude here is this thing with the Chinese will work itself out,” says Cravey. “Things will work out—they just have to.”}

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