Robin L. Webb, vice president and managing broker in the Orlando commercial division of Arvida Real Estate Services and George Livingston, founder/chairman of Realvest Partners Inc., spoke with GlobeSt.com on their strategies in coping with a potential recession.

Webb says, "It has has always been our practice to approach each new year with some caution. As the year 2000 began, we assumed somewhat of a defensive posture with respect to expenses and profitability, along with the reallocation of some assets to expand our client property marketing campaigns."

The Arvida executive says, "the year ended with a dramatic improvement in our bottom line and with a 12% increase in the average size of our Central Florida commercial transactions."