Recommendations for a Real Estate Newbie

What would you consume to get quickly up the real estate learning curve?

Recently I met a college student who is interested in real estate as a career path. He had taken finance classes, but no real estate courses. However, he was doing a good job of getting out in the market and talking to people, and had an idea that he eventually wanted to be on the investor side, at a private equity fund, and eventually start his own company.

My recommendation was to learn the industry as quickly as possible, understand the different parts of the business (private equity, lending, brokerage, etc.), and learn about the key companies and players. This is helpful to understand the language of the game.

As I brainstormed, I suggested that with 5-10 hours per week dedicated to getting up the curve, below is what I would consume. Ideally these would be consumed actively, taking notes, and jotting questions that could later be investigated.

Read:

• Peter Linneman’s textbook remains - in my opinion - the most practical textbook in the industry. While I probably haven’t opened mine in 10 years, it is comforting to have in my shelf, and if I was entering the industry today, I would read it cover to cover.

• The Real Estate Game by William Poorvu

• The Wednesday Wall Street Journal, with the real estate section.

• Brad Hargreave’s newsletter Thesis-Driven. Brad has only been doing this for about a year, but his content allows for real-time insights into the current market and innovations accompanying it.

Listen:

• The Fort podcast hosted by Chris Powers

• CBRE Weekly Take podcast hosted by Spencer Levy

• Leading Voices in Real Estate hosted by Matt Slepin

I’m sure there are lots of other great resources out there to constitute a healthy real estate diet. Curious to hear if others have suggestions.