Commercial Real Estate

It is no secret that the financial world as we know it has been turned on its head over the course of the last year. What started out as a real estate crisis in the United States has morphed into an emergency of global proportions, one that has left no country untouched. While Canada was one of the last countries to feel the overall economic pinch, it has begun to hurt here as well. Everything from precious funds to registered retirement savings plans have been drastically affected and people are starting to get very worried.

Just as with the recession in the United States, Canada's economic woes are best seen in the real estate market. We have just completed one of the longest and highest peaks the real estate industry has ever seen. The result has been a lot of people moving or buying at high prices, not to mention an increase in the number of practicing realtors in the industry today. With the market's sudden grinding halt, many of those real estate professionals are wondering what they are going to do for money on a monthly basis.

While there will certainly be some temptation to cut and run in the current market (you might have dreams of teaching English overseas or even starting your own business, such as a dog boarding business) there are other options. Ostensibly, you have built a career around real estate, including all the training and personal relationships needed in order to be successful. Instead of getting out of the business, why not consider diversifying your portfolio?

One way to do that is to expand your expertise. In real estate, that means taking advantage of the opportunities represented not just in residential real estate, but commercial as well. Even in tough economic times, there are plenty of businesses in need of a good commercial realtor. People may be looking to cut down their overheads by looking for a smaller locale or base of operations; they might even be looking to expand. Either way, they are going to need someone to help them find a place to do business from.

In this series of articles, we are going to take a look at making commercial real estate a part of your working portfolio. From helping out big companies who need to find leases on large tracts of land to independent businesses such as private services, there will always be business in commercial real estate. We are going to help you get off on the right track so you can take advantage of these opportunities.

So if the current real estate market is depressing you, don't jump ship just yet. Whether you operate in Prince Edward Island or Oregon, business cards for realtors look a lot better if they have both residential and commercial credentials on them. Expanding your training might make all the difference as far as keeping your career afloat in unpredictable times!