The most popular post on this blog is this one here called, "What real estate developers do and why I became one." This post alone has been responsible for a good chunk of the organic traffic that this site receives since I wrote it back in 2014. If you search for "real estate developer" in Google it usually comes up on the first page.
Probably because of this post, the number one question I receive in my inbox is about how to become a developer or how to transition into development from some other discipline. Usually this comes from someone who is early on in their career and/or is in architecture (which is not surprising given my background as a fake architect).
I have tried to respond to this question publicly and at scale with a number of different posts. But many of you probably haven't seen them before, and so I figured it would be a good idea to summarize some of them here (they're usually tagged with "developer dirt"):
Studying to become a real estate developer (book recommendation)
Three-legged stool (the three things that every project needs)
Planning staff reports (why they're worth reading)
If you're looking for a more succinct summary of what to do, here is what I would suggest to you. You basically have three options.
1) You can convince someone to take a chance and hire you, even though you likely don't have any development experience. Maybe you have a background in something relevant such as real estate law, architecture, or politics (good). Or maybe you don't (less good). Either way, the best way to position yourself is to understand what it is that developers do and figure out a way to create value for them from day one. You want to be in a position to say, "Yeah, I know I don't have any direct development experience, but I can do X, Y, and Z for you starting today and I think that would be helpful to you for the following reasons."
2) Get a relevant degree. I'm thinking an MBA in real estate or some sort of master's in real estate development. The reality is that the development business has, in many ways, become more institutionalized. It has gone, though obviously not entirely, from rich private families developing with their own balance sheets to more institutional capital sources, such as pension funds. Because of this, there are going to be hiring managers out there who need to check off certain boxes. For example, does this person have a real estate degree? This may make it harder for someone to take a chance on you if you don't have the right experience and/or credentials.
3) Just go out and do it. Despite becoming more institutional, the development business remains, in my view, a deeply entrepreneurial endeavor. You have to be able to problem solve and you have to be creative. The best developers I know don't focus on can't, they focus on how. Because there are too many obstacles in this business. A can't mentality wouldn't get you very far. So consider renovating a triplex, building a laneway suite, or doing something else that allows you to take a piece of real estate and create some additional value. Because that's all that development really is at the end of the day.
If you found this post useful, please consider sharing it with someone that you think would benefit from it. And if there are other topics that you would like me to cover (or cover in more detail), please feel free to leave a comment below or to at me on Twitter. I prefer Twitter over email because it forces brevity. Happy Canadian Thanksgiving, all.
Photo by Bernard Hermant on Unsplash
We are looking to hire a Project Coordinator to join the Development team here at Slate Asset Management in our Toronto office.
This is an ideal position for someone who is passionate about development and cities; who wants to be part of an entrepreneurial and growing team; and who is able to be hands on and take ownership over what they do.
The Project Coordinator would work closely with the full Development team and support all aspects of project delivery from acquisition to exit/stabilization. Eventually, we want this person to lead a portfolio of their own development projects.
We're looking for someone with the following skills and characteristics:
Demonstrated passion for city building, design, and urban affairs
Experience in real estate and/or development
Understanding of planning & land use policies, development finance, and design & construction (though, the right attitude and work ethic goes a long way)
High energy, with the ability to thrive in a fast-paced entrepreneurial environment while at the same time being extremely detail oriented
Strong communication skills, both written and verbal (well-reasoned opinions are crucial)
Proficiency in Excel, SketchUp, CAD/Revit and other relevant software considered an asset
Degree(s) in related field(s)
If you're interested after reading all of this, please send your resume and cover letter to brandon@slateam.com. Your short cover letter should include why you want to work at Slate, as well as your favorite recent development project (it can be anywhere in the world but make sure to include why).
Alongside this, we would like to see a link/URL that helps us get to know you better. This could be your Twitter or Instagram, a personal blog, a portfolio, or something else that represents who you are. If you don't have any of these, well then you'll have to get creative.
Thanks for your interest.
One of the great things about social media is that it gives us access to data that previously didn’t exist or was difficult to collect.
Take, for example, LinkedIn’s monthly report on employment trends called the Workforce Report. They look at which industries are hiring, where people are moving for jobs, and so on. Click here for the June 2017 edition.
Note that architecture/engineering hiring appears to be up nationally, which is usually a positive leading indicator.
I’ll leave you all to go through the report, but I did want to pull out a few of their maps and one of their takeaways. Below are maps of the cities that lost the most workers and gained the most workers over the last 12 months.
The established trend of people moving from colder northern cities to warmer amenity-rich cities seem to play out here.
That said, one of their “key insights” is that fewer workers today are moving to the San Francisco Bay Area. Since February 2017, there has been a 17% decline in the net number of workers.
They blame housing affordability (ahem, lack of supply). People are simply turning to other great cities like Seattle, Portland, Denver, and Austin. They’re growing and cheaper.
One of the other cool things about the report is that you can drill down into individual cities to see where people are moving from. I looked up Miami and Chicago just to do a quick comparison.
Not surprisingly, Miami is seeing a significant contingent from South America. What’s interesting about this random comparison is how international Miami is and how regional Chicago is in terms of their draws.
I would love to see similar data for Canada. This is valuable stuff.