Why Start In Commercial Real Estate Now: The Top Five Reasons ...

The?revival?of the commercial real estate market coincides with exciting, major shifts in long-held ground rules about our industry. ?The ?book? is being rewritten in retail, office, industrial and multifamily in ways we?ve never seen before.

Disruptive change, driven by technology?s successes and finance?s stumbles, is creating giant new opportunities across the country.

The time to capitalize on these shifts is now. It looks like an excellent time to start a career in commercial property brokerage, representation and leasing for these five reasons:

1. Commercial Lending Is Beginning To Open Up Again

With interest rates at historic lows, the loosening of the credit crunch is underway in primary and some secondary markets. Our pinstriped friends at the banks are again building portfolios with commercial lending, bringing the capital to the table set by the practitioners and customers.

This back-to-basics approach promises to continue to expand into the fullness of the secondary and tertiary markets, meaning retail, multifamily, industrial and office opportunities in numbers and locations akin to those of decades past are again in the cards.

2. Technology Is Creating New Niches

The internet is reshaping commercial real estate in major ways, creating new norms and huge opportunities as it goes.

Traditional office space is not meeting the needs of younger millennial workers, driving a trend toward shared, internet-centric workplaces.

Traditional brick-and-mortar retail is moving into new relationships with the huge boom in internet retail, and so tearing down and rebuilding core assumptions in retail that touch every square foot.

And behind the internet revolution is its own unique physical space needs, from data centers that house all that internet to the new logistics and supply chain properties that are hustling to fulfill $200 billion worth of e-tailing every year.

Getting to the technology revolution first in your market by bringing the right mix of skills, offerings and commercial property acumen to bear at the right time ? this door is open now.

3. NAR Commercial Is Here

Becoming a REALTOR? in commercial practice means joining a family of professionals who share experience, knowledge, and guidance in every way possible.

It means connecting with the councils in commercial investment (CCIM), industrial and office (SIOR), commercial property management (IREM) and ?land (RLI) to develop the skills and contacts you need for a fruitful career in these sectors.

Joining NAR Commercial means access to the education, professional standards, tools and resources of the single largest family of commercial real estate practitioners. There?s never been more help, nor more ways to get it.

4. The Global Market At Your Doorstep

The new signs of life in the US market are drawing attention globally as commercial property markets in Europe and Asia are stagnating. From large property?management?companies in Australia to REIT investors from Europe, the line is forming around the globe to get a piece of the US?s $5-7 Trillion in commercial property available for investing.

This is another way of saying the global economy is right under your feet and capital is flowing your way. That?s an exciting set of conditions to start a new career in.

5. Options Abound

The aforementioned technological shifts don?t just affect retail and office in the abstract; they affect our business directly in lots of positive ways. ?They bring choice.

The ready access to teleconferencing, listings, demographic, mapping and other data via the internet means that the traditional office is no longer the only setting for everything from building pro formas to closing on deals.

Your career in commercial real estate can take nearly any form today. You could start at a big shop ? there are 800 firms who?ve brokered over $10 million in commercial property last year, and the biggest of these are going to be hiring following the latest round of?consolidations.

Or, ?you could join a boutique, trading one kind of culture for another. ?Or something in between.

The loud and clear point is the options have never been greater. ?The way to work, the places to work, the sectors, the markets are all in a state we?ve never seen before.

That?s the opportunity.

(Image source: MyFootpath.com)

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