Real Estate Careers Yield Great Return on Investments

Today, the real estate arena is a financially astute one, and the image of the industry’s handshake deal is a myth. Consequently, business school becomes a much-needed step on the way to a long-term career in the field. Now more than ever, business school graduates are in demand in real estate development and acquisition, engineering, property management, lending, and brokerage areas of the industry.

It’s a diverse business that requires a broad range of talents—from communication skills to negotiating prowess and from financial expertise to marketing acumen. For Patti Vogel Neal 00EvMBA, senior project manager for Carter, an Atlanta-based commercial real estate firm, that was part of the allure. Neal was the senior person for the $215 million Atlantic Station town center portion of one of the nation’s largest mixed-use urban redevelopment efforts. She notes, “There are so many different aspects to it. The job often takes a lot of personality and skill, but it’s also an industry that has stood the test of time.” Even with the development boom in the U.S. real estate market, naysayers continue to predict that a sharp downturn is just around the corner. Says Neal, “You might eventually see a small change. It might be regional or in certain sectors of the business. Much of what I learned at Goizueta was about adaptability. Goizueta helped me to see the big picture and how I might impact other aspects of the company.”

The expanding and booming marketplace has translated to a wide array of opportunities for Goizueta’s graduates, says Roy Black, an adjunct associate professor of finance at Goizueta. Black specializes in real estate coursework, and he admits that student interest in real estate classes and jobs continues to increase along with the industry itself. However, Black cautions that even with the interest and the opportunities available, networking is probably more essential in this field than almost any other. “It’s an industry very much reliant on relationships,” he says.

Indeed, Steven Ludwig 98BBA heads his own real estate investment company called Coastline Capital Partners. Ludwig founded the Hermosa Beach, Calif. company in 2003, after working for the private real estate investment firm Colony Capital as an acquisitions and asset management senior financial analyst. A contact made at Colony led to a business partnership and the start of Coastline Capital Partners. He says, “We joint venture the ownership in apartment dwellings, and our partners are large institutional investors.” Ludwig serves as the company’s principal and as a director of acquisitions and dispositions.

In 2003, Ludwig brought fellow Goizueta graduate and friend Eric Freedman 00BBA onboard, after Ludwig’s business partner passed away. Freedman began his career with Arthur Andersen in the Transaction Advisory Services Group, but in January 2006 he became a principal in Coastline Capital Partners. Says Freedman, “I don’t regret the move, since I’ve always imagined myself working in an entrepreneurial environment. You have to be an extrovert to be in this business.” He also holds the title of director of portfolio management for Coastline. For now, California appears to be the prime market for their type of enterprise. With home prices at an all-time high, the firm focuses on needed apartment rentals, spreading their risk by building a portfolio of more modest, average, and luxury units. But, with the success of the enterprise, Ludwig and Freedman (pictured on the cover of the Spring 2006 Goizueta Magazine) say they are currently looking to apply that business model elsewhere and to expand the venture nationally.

For more on real estate and the Goizueta alumni who’ve embraced this dynamic industry, see the Spring 2006 issue of Goizueta magazine or visit Goizueta magazine online.