Apartment Development

We recognize that this time of year can be a naturally quieter time for traffic.  However, when we know that it is a “slow season” it becomes even more important for your leasing team to inject energy into their working week and be proactive in their activities so that their performance does not lag. Of course we set goals to achieve our business objectives. However, setting goals is sometimes the easy part.

We also need to ensure the right training is in place. This gives our employees the tools to do their jobs effectively and thus realize our business goals. A company that invests in an employee’s professional growth is really investing in its own business. Therefore it is essential to provide the leasing team with appropriate training and also to encourage the members to work on their professional development.

No matter what our role is within the multi-family industry, there is always one word which is used more than any other; “community.” Some of us own communities, some of us develop communities, some of us design communities and others of us lease or operate them. And chances are that many of us live in an apartment, condominium or townhome community as well. So then why is it that there is so little ‘community’ in our communities?

When it comes down to this failure’s root cause, it can really only be one of two choices;

a.       Either the management team does not expend their energies in a manner that creates a welcoming and vibrant atmosphere that encourages interaction, or

In this, the third and final installment of the Team Building series, we are going to hone in on the key skills to identify and quantify when hiring a young developer. As we recall, in the first chapter we discussed the three key indicators of success; The Get-It Factor, Communication Skills and a History of Success. In the second chapter, we introduced our ‘toolbox’ and explored the difference between hard-skills and soft-skills (i.e. the tools). As we previously mentioned, between hard and soft tools, the soft ones are more critical because they are more difficult to develop. This fact doesn’t make them more important in the long run- but a young developer with a strong soft-skills base will generally be much easier to train successfully than one who relies heavily on the hard ones. The irony is that our profession most heavily respects hard-skills.

So what are the key soft-tools to hone for a developer’s toolbox?

Let me begin by wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah. For those of you who regularly read my scribbles, you are used to some pretty meaty topics. In light of the Holidays, this one will be a bit frothier. In each blog that I write there are certain themes which remain pretty consistent. One of my favorites is that real estate development is about the coolest industry on the planet. After all, our job is to make the world a better, more usable, more beautiful place.

Often my intended audience is the real estate developer (my hope is of course that there is some part of my subject matter which translates to my non-developer audience- or at least helps you better understand those temperamental developers who constantly tell you ‘We can’t afford that.’). Today, I would like to remind us all of something that is very easily glossed over as we perform our day-to-day tasks.

In the first installment of Team Building, we discussed the three key predictors of a developer’s success; the Get It Factor, Communication Skills and a History of Success. For those of us who are used to trying to isolate more tangible items in an interview, this concept can seem a bit too touchy-feely.  But truth be told, it is the touchy-feely items that are actually critical for success in a strategic role.

You have to agree that we cannot attribute the success of Donald Trump, Mack Pogue, Trammel Crow, Jorge Perez, Robert Tishman, etc. to their abilities at running excel spreadsheets. Equally clear is the fact that the ability to generate pivot tables has had virtually no effect on your career’s trajectory either. So then why is it that we use this as an entry requirement into our profession?

Sadly, the most obvious answer is also the most truthful- we do it because we are lazy.

One of the great challenges in development team building comes down to composition. We ask ourselves; What are my immediate and long-term needs? What skills are important in my new hire? How do I find and choose the best candidate for my organization? The reason that these questions are more daunting in development than other careers is because of the vastly diverse set of skills that must be present in order to create a ‘successful’ developer. It’s not like hiring an accountant.

At first blush, we might say that hiring for a new team is very different than hiring for an existing one. The reason being that with a new team, we know that need a comprehensive skill-set (an A to Z guy), whereas with an already operating team, we might feel that we can simply hire to address our immediate need- what I call a ‘fill the hole’ mentality. For those of you familiar with my blog and the School for Development concept, you already know that this is the exact wrong solution. We cannot continue to make tactical hiring decisions for development roles because a developer is always a strategic position. When we don’t approach our strategic positions strategically, we increase our turn-over and consequently add chaos to our organizations.  So what should we look for when evaluating a candidate?

In my experience, there are three primary qualities that are essential predictors of success for anyone who embarks on the developer’s path. And I choose these three because being a developer means being a salesman, a banker, a visionary leader, a manager and an entrepreneur.

Not long ago, I toured an apartment complex with two friends; one was the architect who designed it and the other, the developer who built and owns it. The exterior was gorgeous and appropriate. The amenities were unique and clever. The units appeared to be attractive and reasonable for the market…that is until we entered the kitchen. This room was comprised of dark hardwood floors, rich wood cabinetry, stainless appliances and a builder-grade white laminate counter (that stuck out like a sore thumb). I winced. I looked to my architect friend- who gave me the ‘this isn’t the time’ slight head shake. We continued the tour. 

Later, I took the architect aside and asked ‘What the f@*k was that?’ He explained that there were originally granite counters spec’ed, but that they were lost in the V.E. process. To me, this was yet another example of the bad results of not training our young developers to know the difference between a good and a bad decision. It’s the problem of not teaching them that development happens in the real world- not on a spreadsheet. Which brings me to our theme;

‘Whenever there is a decision, there is always a good decision to be made.’

I have been fortunate to have the occasion to work with a group of promising young folks and get to hear their hopes and expectations. As I listen, I can’t help but think back to my own career path and chuckle at how little changes generationally. Their wants are no different than mine were at their age. Their frustrations that it all happens too slowly are the same. Their fundamental lack of understanding is heartwarming, as are their expectations.

 Since early in our careers, those of us who are smart, hard-working and motivated have generally focused on the idea of ownership. We see the entrepreneurs who employ us and want to be similar. They embody a version of our concept of success. When we are young, being a partner means having a seat at the grown-ups table. It’s our opportunity to affect change or enable our visions. It’s the gateway to profit and security. There may even be a little pride in the title of ‘owner’ which we covet- if we’re confident enough to admit it.

But because we are smart, hard-working and motivated; we also want things well before we’re ready for them, before we even understand what it is that we think we want. Of course we don’t recognize that we’re not ready; after all we have been told that we are bright and unique snowflakes since we were three years old. So I thought that I might offer some ‘tough love’ advice and words of wisdom to the throngs of audacious talented youth, who will one day, be ready to lead.

Many of the topics that we discuss in this blog are related to three basic themes;

1.       The Industry is broken and in need of a major overhaul.

Increased demand for rental housing has led to a considerable uptick in multifamily construction, finds the National Multi Housing Council’s (NMHC) latest Quarterly Survey of Apartment Market Conditions.

The pace of development activity has increased in most markets.  Two-thirds (67%) of respondents noted considerable activity, either in the planning stage or actual new construction.  In particular, 20% said developers are breaking ground on new projects at a rapid clip.  The other 47% reported an increase in pre-construction activities—acquiring land, lining up financing, getting building permits—but not much actual construction yet. 

Even with this increased activity, more than half (54%) think new development remains considerably below demand.