Maintaining Professional Competence in Commercial Real Estate

A recent question on LinkedIn was how to maintain your professional competence in commercial real estate? The various responses highlighted their suggestions and collectively are on point. Real estate is constantly evolving, and its valuation and nuances are subject to Market changes such as supply and demand, economic, geo-political and financing, climate, rising operation costs, population trends and preferences, and the cost of land and labor. Overlay technology changes, AI, Automated valuation models, and the wealth of data sources that are constantly evolving requires an in-depth knowledge of these resources and their applications, functions, and creditable outputs. So yes, join and participate in professional associations that focus on the real estate industry, network and attend trade symposiums and conferences, stay current with new software and data sources, and continued education to remain informed and aware of the numerous aspects of commercial real estate and what impacts valuation and market change. Similar to the constant market influences staying ahead in today's technical world requires education, ongoing knowledge, application of market resources and data points each of which are key to competency in conjunction with seeking feedback and input from various trade industries and publications, and informative market participants - lenders, investors, brokers, economists, developers, and IT specialists.