Could we be witnessing the start of a full-blown stock market crash? Only time will tell — guessing the near-term direction of share prices is notoriously difficult, and I’m not about to start! However, the red lights are flashing, and it pays for investors to get prepared for a correction.

I’m not talking about selling everything and heading for the hills. No, I’m referring to how investors can use stock market slumps as a wealth-building opportunity. But how?

Flashing lights

Market volatility is nothing new. But then stock markets have always recovered from crashes, and those who buy when prices dip can make a killing. It’s one reason why the number of Stocks and Shares ISA millionaires rocketed in the years following the 2008 financial crisis.

Today, the escalating conflict in the Middle East has raised speculation over a full-blown market slump. Surging oil prices could escalate inflationary pressures, thus limiting interest rate cuts and damaging global growth.

This adds to nervousness that’s already gripping financial markets. Fears over artificial intelligence (AI) — whether that be the threat of an asset bubble, or that this new tech frontier shatters economic models, raising unemployment and hitting consumer spending in a way that smacks corporate earnings — are also playing on investors’ minds.

Other potential stock market dangers include lasting concerns over sovereign debt levels, weak growth in major economies, and enduring trade wars between the US and key trading partners.

So what am I doing?

At times like this, it’s important to take a breath and a step back. Crises are nothing new — as billionaire investor Warren Buffett famously put it:

In the 20th century, the United States endured two world wars and other traumatic and expensive military conflicts; the Depression; a dozen or so recessions and financial panics; oil shocks; a flu epidemic; and the resignation of a disgraced president. Yet the Dow rose from 66 to 11,497.

I’m preparing for a stock market crash by building a reserve of cash I can use to buy quality stocks when they fall in value. One I have my eye on right now is Primary Health Properties (LSE:PHP), a real estate investment trust (REIT) I already hold in my portfolio.

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Waiting to strike

Why buy this particular stock, you ask? Like other property owners, it could be hit by an inflationary spike that pushes up borrowing costs and depresses asset values. Primary Health lets out medical properties like doctor surgeries and diagnostics centres.

Despite this threat, I still think it is one of the best stocks I can buy in preparation for an economic or market crash. Demand for GP services will remain in high demand whether or not the war in the Middle East escalates, for instance, or widescale AI adoption pushes up unemployment.

This resilience is underlined by Primary Health’s excellent dividend record, which has delivered around 30 straight years of growth. If the stock market crashes, I’ll take a breath and be ready to strike by buying quality shares like this.