October marks the time for the most significant commercial real estate (CRE) learning event of the year: the South Texas Certified Commercial Institute (CCIM) annual symposium. Assessment Technologies continues to support the CRE community through active membership and corporate sponsorship as a regular sponsor. This year, the symposium showcased real estate information sessions in retail, office, multifamily, industrial, and the financial sector. The theme this year was “Right Time, Right Place.”
Hundreds of CRE professionals flocked to the all-day event on the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) campus, a testament to the symposium’s profound impact on the industry. UTSA’s annual event, a beacon of support for the career path into CRE, drew students from the Embrey Real Estate Finance and Development Program, inspiring them to shape the future of the industry.
Many of those in attendance are Brokers, Leasing professionals, Investors, Asset Managers, Appraisers, Property Managers, Developers, Commercial Lenders, Attorneys, Bankers, of course UTSA students, and other allied professionals to leverage industry insights into profit.
Industry leaders forecast another year of growth in the CRE industry. Continued cap rate compression in CRE is expected to continue for the foreseeable future due to the constant influx of European and Asian capital seeking returns in a relatively safe political environment. Because of declining yields in primary markets, investor capital is now flowing into both secondary and tertiary markets in search of return (ROI). Texas cities that will continue to reap the benefits are Austin (tops the list), San Antonio, and other parts of South & Central Texas.
The event commenced with a thought-provoking keynote address from Will McIntosh, Ph.D., CRE Global Head of Research, USAA Real Estate, who shared his insights on ‘What Does the Future Hold for the Real Estate Market?’. The symposium was further enriched by the expertise of leading industry professionals such as Yesenia Marili, Transwestern, Vice President, Marketing & Research; Chad Knibbe, CCIM President Foresite Commercial Real Estate; Michael J. Lynd, Jr Chief; Executive Office Kairoi Residential; Lange W. Allen Director U.S. Industrial/Logistics USAA Real Estate; and David Adelman Founder and Principal AREA Real Estate, LLC. Their presentations provided our team with a wealth of compelling insights, ensuring our clients stay ahead of the curve.
Industrial & Multifamily assets remain the jewels of a robust investment portfolio. It has become increasingly important to manage the expectations of institutional investors (primarily pension funds) as equity returns continue to slip down the yield curve. Particularly in multifamily, where unrealized rental assumptions combined with the increase in operating expenses (primarily property taxes) means that anticipated proforma returns (IRRs) are not meeting investor expectations. Controlling expenses through active property tax management programs are essential to success in this sector.
Our firm has 2 CCIM designees, John A Pelayo and Pat Howard. They have thousands of hours of continued education in trends and issues facing owners and operators of commercial real estate properties. Our property tax experts have decades of sophisticated, multi-state property tax expertise and have built relationships with over 1500 tax assessor offices across the nation. We dig deep into your business to understand the uniqueness of your commercial property to match our ad valorem expertise. We partner with every client to build enduring relationships that last for decades.