End of Chapter 1 Questions and Answers
1. Is real estate a discipline? Look up the word “discipline” in the dictionary and see how well real estate fits. Can you name a discipline? Why is it hard to name a pure discipline within business?
Answer: According to www.Dictionary.com
1) “Training expected to produce a specific character or pattern of behavior, especially training that produces moral or mental improvement.”
2) “A set of rules or methods, as those regulating the practice of a church or monastic order.”
3) “A branch of knowledge or teaching.”
This last definition seems to imply real estate is a discipline until itself as it is often taught as a separate subject, yet it is not a discipline in the same sense as physics or chemistry where there are a set of unique rules that only apply to that field. Real estate requires the application of known truths or rules borrowed from economics or finance or law and so that is where the confusion comes into play. Real estate is an applied field but it is not a pure discipline.
2. Differentiate between career based functional areas and property types. Name as many functional specializations in real estate as you can as well as property types. Can you name some functional specializations that cross over property types?
Answer: A functional area is a specialization in terms of work while property types involve specialized markets.
Functional areas include: Appraisal, Brokerage, Leasing, Property Management, Corporate Real Estate Management, Mortgage Lending, Construction Lending, Construction, Development, Teaching, Real Estate Law, Research, Consulting.
Property types include: Single family housing, multifamily housing, retail property, office, industrial, government, agricultural property, educational property, recreational property, airports and each of these can further be divided by sub-groups such as senior housing within housing or regional malls within retail.
A functional area like mortgage lending or appraisal typically crosses over property types. Others may as well.
3. Who was James Graaskamp and what was his contribution to the study of real estate?
Answer: He was a Professor at the University of Wisconsin who started one of the first graduate university real estate programs and developed a methodology for examining feasibility analysis for new development ideas or existing sites.
4. Name 7 trade associations that fit within the umbrella of real estate careers. Go to their web sites and describe the goals of the organization, the size of the group and the types of resources provided.
Answer: A few of the key groups include with membership as of 2002:
AI - Appraisal Institute with 18,000 members
APA - American Planning Association with 30,000 members
BOMA - Building Owners and Managers Association with 18,000 members
CCIM - Commercial Investment Real Estate Institute with 7,000 members
CORENET (USA) – formally International Development Research Council and NACORE the National Association of Corporate Real Estate Executives with 7,000 members now part of CORENET
CRE - American Society of Real Estate Counselors with 1,100 members
ICSC - International Council of Shopping Centers with 39,000 members
IREM - Institute of Real Estate Management with 16,000 members
MBAA- Mortgage Bankers Association of America with 2,800 members
NAHB - National Association of Home Builders with 205,000 members
NAIOP - National Assoc. of Industrial and Office Parks with 8,000 members
NAR - National Association of Realtors with 800,000 members
NAREIT - National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts
NCREIF - National Council of Real Estate Investment Fiduciaries
NMHC- National Multi Housing Council
NNCREW - National Commercial Real Estate Women with 5,000 members
ULI - Urban Land Institute with 17,000 members
All of the web sites can be found at .uc.edu/getreal/Trades/tradeassc.html
5. Post your resume on www.real-jobs.com even if you are only looking for part time or summer time work.