There is no doubt about it: 2009 was a year filled with challenges and hardships elevated to heights no one could have predicted. This was especially true for the commercial real estate industry in South Florida, where boom quickly turned to bust. Many real estate professionals lost clients and jobs, but of all the professionals affected by the commercial real estate crash, perhaps none have been most affected as those who have not yet entered the workforce. Students preparing to graduate will face one of the toughest job markets in modern history — especially students specializing in real estate.
Clearly, students of the currently-suffering real estate industry are in quite a predicament. Economic research shows that students who graduate during a recession suffer the effects for decades, and students who are forced to take lower-level jobs or positions unrelated to their education lose ground to their peers; their education becomes more out of date, and their professional networks remain constricted. When the job market does improve, these students will enter their industry at a marked disadvantage in terms of professional experience, acquired skills and wage history. But their misfortune can affect the real estate industry as a whole. For any industry, the constant influx of fresh new professionals infuses the market with new perspectives, the latest strategies, and youthful energy and verve. For the stagnant South Florida real estate market, such an injection could help get the gears going and get the deals done.
CREW-Miami (Commercial Real Estate Women), a professional association for women and men in all sectors of commercial real estate, recently partnered with Florida International University (FIU) to launch a new program called UCREW. The goal of the partnership is to provide students educational resources, real-world knowledge and networking opportunities for access into the recovering market. Designed as an educational program to provide undergraduates with an inside look at the complexity of, and mechanisms behind, the commercial real estate market, UCREW is aiming to help the next generation of real estate professionals enter the field as prepared and connected as possible.
CREW-Miami held its first UCREW event Janurary 26 at FIU's Chapman Graduate School of Business. More than 90 graduate and undergraduate students met with industry leaders from CREW-Miami to discuss various commercial real estate field disciplines, including development, construction, architecture, appraisal, brokerage and property management. The interactive format allowed time for students to pose questions to CREW-Miami’s full spectrum of experts and tap into their knowledge as veteran industry leaders. Additionally, there was time for networking, which, as any real estate professional knows, is crucial to building relationships and uncovering opportunities. CREW-Miami intends UCREW to serve as a continuing program, with regular events and meetings to help students further develop their real estate business acumen and strengthen their connections with industry leaders.
As the economy struggles through a fledgling recovery, we see more and more promise in the real estate market for stabilization in the not-too-distant future. For the time being, though, in preparation for the rebound, we can help strengthen our industry by strengthening the next wave of colleagues.
— Julie Williamson works in the Miami office of Akerman Senterfitt.