But because of all of the above, that simply worded statement isn't so simple in execution, and real challenges face the Institute as we swing into a new year—and a new paradigm for the industry. In fact, the two primary pillars of CCIM—networking and education—are helping the Institute—and therefore its membership to not only cope, but thrive.

Robin Webb, CCIM, the 2017 president of the Institute, helps put the changing currents of the times into proper perspective. What we're experiencing, says he, is not so much about disruption as much as “market evolution. After all, we're really not seeing a lot of specific change with respect to the way people buy real estate. It's still about financial analyses, viability of income streams and understanding potential appreciation and income. The methods of analysis really haven't changed.” If there are market disruptors, Webb sees them as the continued compression of cap rates, “well beyond what many of us thought would happen in the years after the recession. And the largest hurdle that you might call a disruptor has been the rigidity with which lenders are now addressing the marketplace.”

“It's still about financial analyses, viability of income streams and understanding potential appreciation and income. The methods of analysis really haven't changed.”—Robin Webb, 2017 CCIM President |

A NEW PRESIDENTIAL PARADIGM

Of course, not all changes are challenges. Such is the outcome of the presidential election. Despite the protests over possible social issues, the business community, and specifically commercial real estate, is pumped about the results—even as it keeps a wary eye toward certain proposals.

“I think the opportunity to go forward in a positive vein with a capitalism-driven president is a good one,” says Webb, who is also managing director of NAI Realvest in Orlando. “I think we'll see a new excitement within the commercial real estate realm.”

But there are concerns. “One of those, oddly enough, was that neither candidate had a commercial real estate platform,” says Webb. “Even President Trump didn't push a real estate platform during the campaign. What he did push were some advantageous taxes, and that clearly affects us, so the opportunities to build a new future under the momentum that has been built is extremely positive.”

Steven Moreira, CCIM, the Institute's immediate past president, is also jazzed about the new administration. But, like many commercial real estate professionals, he has been concerned about government regulations beyond the Oval Office. “We need to keep an eye on interest rates,” says Moreira, who is also president of Longwood, FL-based Magic Properties and Investments. “They're a two-edged sword. Rising rates are going to get a lot of folks off the fence. And that means buyers and sellers both will need CCIM expertise to come up with values that will move their product into the marketplace.”

In that climate, a wait-and-see attitude is a threat to business “because you risk losing your deal if you just sit around and hope for a ridiculous cap rate or a ridiculous price,” the past president says. “You'll lose your deal to buyers or sellers who have analyzed their position to reflect the current marketplace. The time to sell is when someone wants to buy.”

And therein lies the networking piece of the CCIM platform. The ability to reach out to other CCIMs to gain needed insights that might benefit their clients is a key attraction of the association. Yakhin Israel, CCIM, a principal at his newly formed firm, Twin Pillar Capital in Tampa, is a prime example.

“The network is virtually everywhere,” he tells Real Estate Forum. “It all boils down to relationships, and not just having the network but actively engaging the network—giving back and, occasionally, asking.”

Conversations with other CCIMs allow local brokers to share their responses to any number of legislative or regulatory changes that might come down the pike. Not surprisingly, they also promote more business, says Israel. “I could walk into any town in the territory, create a conversation and obtain contacts or actionable market information that enables me to provide value to my clients,” he says. “And I get calls from other CCIMs when they or their clients need another level of financing or if they just need a lender's perspective. The networking capabilities are a huge part of CCIM today and will be in the future.”

In fact, Moreira reports a major shift in what drives members to the organization. “They used to come for the education and stay for the networking,” he says. “Now they also want to be part of a vibrant network that's active in multiple marketplaces.”

CCIM president elect David P. Wilson, CCIM, offers firsthand evidence of the power of the CCIM network. The EVP of Lockard Development in Cedar Falls, IA relates that, “I was moderating a panel at the RealShare Healthcare Conference last year in Scottsdale and was talking with another CCIM about medical office buildings. He asked if we would be interested in selling a building we had in Iowa. We talked about it for a while and two days later we had a full-price offer on the building. We sold it in April of this year in a $16.8-million transaction. The buyer was Montecito, a REIT.”

“We talked about (the property) for a while and two days later we had a full-price offer on the building.”—David P. Wilson, President-Elect |

BOOMERS OUT, MILLENNIALS IN

Another issue that speaks to the relevance of all industry organizations is the shift in the population as Boomers leave the industry and a new generation enters, a generation already famous for its non-traditional ways of communicating and doing business.

According to Moreira, CCIM was experiencing a one-to-one turnover rate for a few years, especially during the recession and its aftermath, with a millennial coming in for every Boomer who left. That scale happily is now tipping toward influx, especially among those earning master's degrees in real estate—initially, as he noted previously, for the networking.

But they are clearly staying for the education, and this too is the result of evolution, both in terms of content and delivery. “In the professional development education courses we offer through the CCIM Institute Ward Center for Real Estate Studies, there are many courses that didn't exist a few years ago,” says Webb. These include a course on raising capital through crowdfunding sources. There is also more standard fare, such as the recently created Development Specialty Track series of courses, which is “centered upon successful and profitable commercial real estate development and will end with a certificate of completion.”

And members will find too a choice of delivery systems to fit their schedules, what Webb calls asynchronous and synchronous approaches, “the first meaning without an instructor,” he says, “so it's self-paced, online learning. Members can go through the entire CCIM program and never visit a classroom. Synchronous programs are instructor-led but also virtual so technically there still is no classroom.” As of last year, the Institute has also offered blended learning, a hybrid of the two, a concept it lifted from the playbook of academia to provide “the best of both worlds.”

Interestingly, the choice of formats, tailored for the rising generation, has had some surprising results. “Our blended learning and online deliveries are an almost equal mix of Boomers and Millennials,” says Webb. “The reality is that it's all about personality and learning style.”

Newcomers to the industry aren't the only ones who recognize the value of a CCIM education. As one can imagine, making a name for yourself in this business is a tough task. A member since 1999, 2017 first vice president Barbara M. Crane, CCIM, says that earning her CCIM fast-tracked her industry acceptance.

“I worked really hard to prove myself in what was then considered a man's world,” says Crane, an independent broker in San Antonio. “When I went on to further my higher education, getting my master's degree helped. But earning my CCIM designation gave me immediate credibility with my peers, around the US and even the world. It was a stamp of approval and did a lot of good for me.”

Notice she mentioned global contacts. Not surprisingly, the leadership of CCIM isn't counting solely on stateside demographics to swell its ranks, and an essential part of its five-year plan calls for recruits in ever-expanding markets around the globe. This is essential not only for the sake of membership rolls but also obviously to spread that local-market expertise (i.e., networking) internationally.

“We're currently delivering education in eight countries around the world,” Moreira reports. This includes Russia and Poland and a newly signed agreement in Dubai. In fact, at the November 2016 CCIM Thrive conference in Atlanta, the association signed on more than 200 new designees. In December, 52 new designees from China joined its ranks and contributed to nearly doubling international designees during 2016.

In fact, as Moreira points out, there was in 2016, “a 27% increase in international membership, which is right in line with the fact that 25% of investment grade real estate in the US is financed or bought by foreign investors.”

And it seems that momentum will continue this year. “In the first time in over a decade we will deliver designation courses in Mexico. CCIM training is already strong in Taiwan, China, Japan and Korea,” and within the decade, Moreira expects to see courses in South America.