Looking for advice on next steps as a commercial broker (American in Asia)
Hello everyone.

I'm in my early 20s and recently moved from the US to Asia to start a career as a broker for one of the 5 main international CRE firms.  I speak the local language, have a boss who is involving me in many projects, and am getting invaluable experience helping Western firms navigate a foreign real estate market (in addition to local deals).  It is a fun and exciting work environment even if it sometimes feels like I'm "shooting from the hip".

At the same time, I do not see myself working in this city forever, and plan to move to a more attractive city (either still in Asia or back to the US) to either continue as a commercial broker or switch to work with an international developer.

Questions:

1. Can anyone provide insight or share their experiences when switching cities/markets as a CRE broker?

2. Can anyone provide insight or share their experiences on switching from a broker to a development/real estate manager based role?

Any help/suggestions would be greatly appreciated.  Thank you in advance.
[{"id": "d4mgi57", "text": "A good friend of mine who does property sales for a top 3 firm moved across the U.S. for family reasons. From what I remember, the entire process took him 7-8 months: he began by reaching out to teams within the company, as well as external teams. There seemed to by a good fit on an internal team, as they needed someone to help execute business (they were up to their knees in listings). This allowed him to come in working on transactions, and eventually build his own client base. I'm sure learning the market took some time, but if you understand the fundamentals, you know what to look for.\n\nIn my current office, a few brokers have left for developers. I do not really have much input to add to that, it is very important to understand financial analysis, construction, and the market. I think it would be easiest to switch markets as a broker then move into development in that market, as opposed to moving from brokerage to a whole new market as a developer.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "d4mhw93", "text": "I can't say I've relocated to a different country, but I did relocate to a completely different market about 6 months ago. Los Angeles to San Francisco. I also went from strictly a broker to broker/property manager (having a salary to go along with the commissions sure is comforting). Unfortunately in most cases you can't bring your clients along with you. My advice for someone relocating would be to make sure they are going to a place where they either have clients already, or are in a good position working with/under someone who is going to feed them some leads (like it sounds you do). What I learned from the experience so far is this: I would find a market you like and relocate as little as possible. While you may be successful wherever you go, the most valuable thing we as brokers have is our knowledge of our market. The longer you focus on a market the more valuable you are. In your case you are so young still that this hardly matters, and honestly I wish I could say I have experience in international brokerage! \n\nAlso, switching into a real estate manager position has been pretty smooth. I think it's an easier transition to go from broker to manager than the other way around. But that's just me. Any questions you may have feel free to ask! Good luck out there.\n\nI'm 26 years old - focus Retail/Office in San Francisco Bay Area.", "replies": [{"id": "d4myrrt", "text": "I'm actually looking to eventually make the jump back to CA, where I'm from.  Sending you a pm", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}]