Is this a good time to get into CRE as a career?
I’ve got an offer for a position in the CRE Finance realm in Florida. While I don’t think WFH will have material long term impacts on the industry, I’d like to hear from those already in it as to whether or not this would be a good long term career move.
[{"id": "fzb8daz", "text": "Now is a great time. There is going to be a whole  lot of changes, and changes mean deals. The worst thing for brokers are unmotivated buyers or sellers, complacent tenants or landlords.", "replies": [{"id": "fzb9blv", "text": "I second that.", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "fzb8jqy", "text": "CRE will never die and will be forever one the wealthiest industries out there as it has been since time immemorial. It adapts, though. You should look at the company's history and check how resilient they have been in the past. If the offer is a good one and you will be able to develop transferable skills, and if you like CRE, why not?", "replies": [{"id": "fzb96u8", "text": "&gt;CRE will never die and will be forever one the wealthiest industries\n\nWould CRE be more lucrative(for an agent/realtor) than luxury resi RE post Covid pandemic?\n\nAppreciate your thoughts..", "replies": [{"id": "fzb9j4x", "text": "I think it depends where you built your career, who you know, what asset class you like and know more, etc.\n\nMany luxury residential realtors make a shitload of money.", "replies": [{"id": "fzb9v0w", "text": "Yes thats pretty much why I asked - Thanks!", "replies": [], "depth": 4}, {"id": "fzbffg2", "text": "Yessir. Totally agree. The market makes a huge difference. I work in Los Angeles County, and many luxury residential realtors make $400k+ per year. Commercial brokers can make that kind of money too, but you meet way fewer of them. There are luxury homes here that sell for higher prices than average 10-unit apartment buildings.", "replies": [{"id": "fzbhnge", "text": "Totally agree. In comparison, where I am - Winnipeg, Canada - it would be very very very difficult to a luxury residential realtor to make that kind of money, whereas there is a good number of CRE brokers that do.", "replies": [], "depth": 5}, {"id": "g3egzae", "text": "Well you'd also want to compare top end luxury homes to top end commercial towers and the cost of commercial in LA is insane.  I know a top commercial agent in that area who has over $200M in \\*pending\\* transactions.  Most residential agents will never see that in their lifetime.  \n\n\nCommercial is harder to get into but is very lucrative.", "replies": [], "depth": 5}], "depth": 4}], "depth": 3}, {"id": "fzbpflj", "text": "Not a broker but an investor:  \nMost people buying luxury homes buy one or two in their lifetimes.  If they buy a second or third luxury home it\u2019s usually in a different city with a different broker since knowledge and expertise are highly local.\n\nCommercial brokers build relationships with investors who make a career of buying and selling properties often in the same geographic area.\n\nI\u2019m a pretty small business (100 residential unit portfolio) but I\u2019ve done close to $20mm in transactions in my 12 year career, buying, selling, consolidating, divesting etc.\n\nMy broker treated me really well and was very helpful early in my career as a 25 year old and has benefited accordingly as I\u2019ve grown my business.   \n\nHe has probably personally earned about $250k off me alone.\n\nIf he can get 10 clients like me he is doing pretty well. If he can average adding 1 a year for his career he will be a multi-millionaire.", "replies": [{"id": "fzc2d9a", "text": "Cool than sounds good. CRE is a long-term game plan it seems and with more stable clientele no drama and lesser hassle to flip later- thanks.", "replies": [], "depth": 4}], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}, {"id": "fzcigkm", "text": "Two businesses have been recession proof since time immemorial. Certain aspects of show business, and our thing. https://youtu.be/QnT8VSPNDhM", "replies": [{"id": "fzcnate", "text": "Frankly I\u2019m depressed and ashamed", "replies": [], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "fzbdi5x", "text": "If one likes do real estate which appears to be one of the more active industry CRE is a more rewarding route. With residential RE it is essentially dormant. Brokers, CEO and paid realtors are taking big pay cut  or get laid off.  This is in SFBA because of Covid.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "fzbehg2", "text": "Yes, but only in finance because the buyers and sellers have already agreed on the price by the time you get involved. The difficult part right now is the negotiation since sellers are clinging to pre-COVID prices and buyers want the deal of the century.\n\nSo yes, go into finance/lending, but if you want to broker property deals, you should wait a year for the government assistance/life support to end so that sellers get a reality check on how much their property is worth.\n\nEDIT: typo", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "fzbxeay", "text": "If you want to make money in the short term the answer is no.  Long term, this industry has a high earning ceiling so if you work hard it\u2019ll likely pay off", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "fzbxw8g", "text": "Following this thread as a COVID grad also looking to potentially enter the CRE industry. Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated!", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "fzce2d6", "text": "This IS the time. You weren\u2019t going to make any real money in the first year anyway. Market changes are coming fast. Opportunity will come with it.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "fzh1ary", "text": "Ah, look I'm going to give a counterargument on WFH.  It's like catnip to me, but I don't necessarily think it's a reason not to get into CRE.\n\nWFH is probably going to have an effect.  The cat is out of the bag, the genie is out of the bottle, and for many employees it's going to be the amenity of the decade.  Forget foosball and nap-pods, what's the WFH concession look like.  I am not suggesting that the office goes away.  I am not suggesting that downtowns go away; if anything they become even more important, they are still a centralized location that allows suburban employees to congregate in a single spot.  I am suggesting that productivity per square foot in offices will decrease and so companies will look to downgrade space.  I am suggesting that less bodies in the office on a given day will decrease square footage needed.\n\nThe numbers are fuzzy.  Green Street is suggesting a linear decline of 15% of office space ([https://www.greenstreetadvisors.com/insights/blog/the-work-from-home-revolution-implications-for-the-office-sector](https://www.greenstreetadvisors.com/insights/blog/the-work-from-home-revolution-implications-for-the-office-sector)).  What do they know, they track REITs not office tenants. But it's not a crazy assumption.\n\nI'm very careful when I bring this up in business settings right now, so I'll use some of those phrases here.  This is not the end of the world, change means opportunity, and the changes will not be immediate; office leases roll slow.  But I offer this to push back on the WFH comment; be prepared for it to have long-term impacts on the office-renting industry (MF and retail too).", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "g0krxb9", "text": "I\u2019d say don\u2019t get into the field before you\u2019re 25.  Gain strong sales skills somewhere that\u2019s salaried first.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}]