Commercial Real Estate Summit social
By: J. David Chapman/September 19, 2019
If you are reading this column, there is a good chance you have an association with the real estate industry in the state of Oklahoma. I spend a lot of time talking about the resilience and sustainability of the built environment in our community. We have made great strides in protecting our community, preserving our great historic buildings, and creating places where people actually want to live, work, and play. I congratulate our industry leadership in organizations such as ULI, COCAR, OKCMAR, Positively Paseo, CREC, BOMA, OAR, and others for their progress.
While I am proud of our progress in our community, I spend very little time talking about what it takes to sustain an educated real estate workforce in our state in order to maintain and continue this progress. Last year at the Commercial Real Estate Summit Pre-Party, the Central Oklahoma Commercial Association of Realtors and the University of Central Oklahoma announced the creation of an endowment to ensure that our real estate program at UCO will continue to provide the talent our industry needs, including real estate brokers, property managers, mortgage brokers, appraisers, title processors/closers, inspectors, urban planners, and developers.
It is no secret that the real estate workforce in Oklahoma is aging, with fewer young people entering into the industry. For example, the average age in the appraisal industry is over 50 years old. The numbers are similar for commercial real estate brokerage and mortgage originators/lenders. UCO is the largest provider of real estate professionals with in-field degrees in our state, with over 80 students in the program. It is also well known in higher education that Oklahoma has endured significant cuts in recent years to the point that the state is now only responsible for providing 21.82% of UCO’s current funding. The balance is currently funded by student tuition and private donations. Since last year’s event, we have raised in excess of $150,000 for our program. A $25,000 endowed donation to the UCO Real Estate Program provides $1,000/year to support the program.
This year’s pre-party will again be held at the downtown CHK/Central Boathouse on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. We will have food, drinks, fellowship, and an update on the UCO Real Estate Program, and we will award this year’s Pivot Awards. Please join us for this tremendous event!
J. David Chapman is an associate professor of finance and real estate at the University of Central Oklahoma (jchapman7@uco.edu).