Associations to Get Information From
One of the great things about commercial real estate is that each “food group” has their own trade groups – associations (sometimes multiple and competing). These associations are great for research into the type of real estate you want to find out more about. Associations were typically formed by enterprising individuals who wanted to add more professionalism into their specific field. Associations provide a wealth of knowledge/research and also provide designations and training for their constituents. In most cases the associations provide lists of members and their designations.
While it can be said a Broker or Company is an active member of a specific association, they are not necessarily the expert. One does not have to be a member of the association to practice or even be an expert in a certain part of the real estate industry.
Here is a list of the most prevalent associations/ trade groups in each food group.
- Realtor – NAR. National Association of Realtors – Very few large Commercial Brokerages- CBRE, JLL etc, have their brokers as part of the NAR and as such are not “REALTORS’
- Apartments/Multi-family (5 units or more). National Apartment Association
- Shopping Centers/ retail. International Council of Shopping Centers
- Office – Building Office Management Association
- Development – Urban Land Institute
- Industrial – National Association of Industrial and Office Parks
- Industrial/ office. SIOR
- Women in real estate –
http://wirewomeninrealestate.com/
- Corporate Real Estate – Corenet
- Urban Planning – Urban Land Institute
- Net Lease – I don’t know of an organization, but a big conference is held each year
http://www.cvent.com/events/2017-interface-net-lease/event-summary-5ee5cdcb74254ea89ea6c2ea9551da23.aspx
- Senior Housing –
https://www.seniorshousing.org
- Health Care – Medical Office Building/Building Office Management
- Hotel/Motel – American Hotel & Lodging Association
- Investment – CCIM Institute
- Property Management – Institute of Real Estate Management
- http://www.irem.org
- Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITS) – National Association of Real Estate investment Trusts
- Appraisers – MAI
- https://www.appraisalinstitute.org
- Mortgage Banker. – Mortgage Bankers Association
- national Real Estate Investors Association – mostly home flips