A recession is unlikely tohit this year, but that doesn't mean that you shouldn't startpreparing. Experts say that this is the perfect time for investorsto reevaluate portfolio performance to prepare for the nextdownturn—when it does come.

"Real estate is cyclical and it is impossible to predict exactlywhen a downturn will happen. Most experts agree that the currenteconomic expansion began in June 2009, and, last summer made it 10years old, the longest in U.S. history," EdHanley, president of Hanley InvestmentGroup, tells GlobeSt.com. "An economic downturn doesn'timpact every market and every investment the same. So, as thecurrent election year unfolds and whether a downturn is around thecorner or not, this is the perfect time to evaluate the currentperformance of your portfolio and how to best position itfor the future."

A portfolio evaluation can include repairs, preventativemaintenance and upgrades, all of which can be essential to tenantretention during a correction. "Properly evaluating making capitalexpenditures now to retain tenants and stable occupancy levels mayput you in a better position for the next downturn or marketcorrection," says Hanley. "Some mall and regional open-airshopping center owners used the last downturn to make largeimprovements to reposition their properties to be ready for bettereconomic times and the strategy was very effective."