Commercial Investment Real Estate is the magazine of the CCIM Institute, the leading provider of commercial real estate education. CIRE covers market trends, current developments, and business strategies within the commercial real estate field.
Issue link: http://cire.epubxp.com/i/443516
40 January | February | 2015 Commercial Investment Real Estate revitalization. "T e multifamily downtown, while it seemed risky at f rst, appears to be paying of ," he says. "Landlords down there are either leasing or selling their properties with relatively little heart- ache, as far as carrying time." And, he adds, "of ces seem to be shif ing back to central business districts from the suburbs as f rms look to hire the next generation of staf to carry them forward. T ere's a movement to renovate older, functionally obsolete class C of ce space in the CBD — as well as older industrial space — into luxury apartments, lof s, and condos to lure more employees downtown." He also sees parking becoming less of an issue: "T ere are fewer CBD tenants with vehicles, with the advent of car sharing in more and more cities," he says. "T e whole goal is to lure retail and create a community where you can buy groceries, do your dry-cleaning, and go to work without getting into a vehicle or using mass transit." Crowdfunding While it's still relatively new, equity crowdfunding could change the commercial real estate landscape signif cantly. "Crowdfunding pro- vides access on both sides of the transaction," says Elizabeth Braman, CCIM, chief production of cer for Realty Mogul in Los Angeles. "For passive real estate investors, it provides investment opportunities that previously they would not have the opportunity to invest in." On the active side of the transaction, where most CCIMs work as brokers or principals, crowdfunding provides access to a larger pool of capital. Small to midsize investors who are looking for noninsti- tutional capital but have outgrown their friends and family can now make of ers and execute on transactions, and be active real estate investors, she says. "Any time there's additional capital in the market, it means that more deals are getting done," Braman adds. "Previously you had a lot of great sponsors who couldn't get checks written small enough to focus on the small to midsize deals, and now there are players in the industry who are able to do that." Braman sees crowdfunding as another resource for CCIMs. "It's a great way for a broker to bring something fresh and new to the table. If you're trying to help a sponsor work with you and get more transactions done, you may look to crowdfunding as a way to supple- ment your services." Sizing Up Skills Spotting trends, though, is only part of the equation. Commercial real estate professionals will need to call on a wide variety of tools to take on new opportunities. Some of these tools CCIMs already have. "CCIM is about three things," Braman says. "Technology, education, and networking — all of those things are huge when it comes to real estate." "Really understanding and getting comfortable with the use of technology to access data sources would be my advice to any broker in this market," she adds. "I think data is going to be the broker's best friend in the coming years. We're all skewing toward big data and understanding what big data tells us about market fundamentals." "Technology has played an integral role in our business," Armani- ous says. "Technology is so readily available, and it's available to everyone. If I'm slow to the punch, everybody else just grabbed my client. And there's a higher level of expectation: T e newer generation of investors is expecting answers right away." T e availability of online information has also made professional acumen that much more important, Verro says. "It's not like the old days where people called you, and you were the bible of information. T ere's so much out there that they can f nd out. It's not inconceiv- able for a client to know more than you do about a certain property. So you need to maintain and sell invaluable market knowledge that they can't get from reading two pages online." Verro has also embraced social media. "I've gotten a lot of hits from listings I've sent out on Twitter and posted on Facebook," he says. He also actively participates in a number of online discussion groups. "Education is all important," Zelonker says. "You can't compete in the 21st century without being educated." For his part, he reads constantly and is a strong believer in taking additional courses, but also takes full advantage of CCIM resources, particularly STDB. Armanious is also a strong believer in education, and in fact, just was licensed in the state of Washington to teach continuing educa- tion real estate classes. He enjoys the chance to share his knowledge, but teaching is also another way to connect with other commercial brokers and learn about potential deals, he says. In addition, Armanious developed a mentoring program last year: He trains participants for a month in the fundamentals — cold calls, business procurement, databases — and then works with them as they begin to do deals. For a 50/50 split, "I go on listing appoint- ments with them. I'm on the phone with them when they're talking to clients. I'm in the loop on all of the e-mails. I'm guiding them, and when I need to step in, I step in," he says. Verro recommends learning everything you can about your own area. "Maintain and obtain invaluable local market knowledge by every means possible," he says. "Make the time to read legal notices, track property sales and leases, and know the players in your market." Getting the CCIM designation also plays an important educational role. "It can take years to learn the fundamentals of real estate," Braman says. "T at's why a CCIM designation is so important — it fast-tracks you. It's an MBA in commercial real estate. By getting your designation, you're learning all the fundamentals of what it takes to understand real estate transactions and to be a valuable participant in the deal." T e designation also provides the essential networking connection. It's particularly valuable if you're not with a big company, Zelonker says. "When I call another CCIM, they take my call," he says. "T ey know I'm not going to waste their time — and that I know what I'm talking about." Verro serves on national CCIM committees and encourages activ- ity at the local level as well. "Participate in your chapter and events so you know fellow CCIMs," he says. "It's amazing how much you can learn from other people with the same level of experience that you have. Don't be afraid to ask questions of everyone. You've got to keep learning." Sarah Hoban is a freelance business writer in the Chicago area.