Blueprints and Bold Moves: Preparing Yourself for a Career in Commercial Real Estate Development

By Sharon Wagner

It starts in the quiet corners of your curiosity—somewhere between reading about skyline-transforming projects and wondering how city blocks evolve from sketches to structures. If you've found yourself circling commercial real estate development as a career, you already know it's not just about buildings. It’s about playing a long game where vision, risk, money, and patience intersect. But before you pull out your drafting board and dive headfirst into the world of mixed-use dreams and retail anchors, there are a few things worth knowing that rarely make it into the glossy brochures.

Should Fannie and Freddie Leave Conservatorship?

Recently much has been written about the fate of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) and its role as conservator over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Since 2009 the FHFA has been both Fannie and Freddie’s regulator and has overseen the direction of both organizations. During that time, the FHFA has ensured that the primary function of both Fannie and Freddie is not profit maximation, but instead facilitation of the secondary mortgage market. The FHFA has set portfolio retention limits, set volume caps for lenders and determined guarantee fees, among other things. Under the oversight of the FHFA, both government-sponsored entities (GSE’s) repaid their debts and once again became profitable. Additionally, both organizations have lowered their respective risk portfolios. In light of a 2021 Supreme Court decision in Collins v. Yellen and the advent of a second Trump presidency, there is some renewed rhetoric around the two GSE’s leaving conservatorship and the oversight of the FHFA.

Hotel Valuation, A Quick and Dirty Guide

We are in the midst of the 30 days of content from TRET and on the heels of our post about the W Hotel, here is a quick guide on how to price hotels. The Arrowfish Consulting blog has a great article on hotel valuation. This article is a great reference for anyone looking to get a basic understanding of how to value hotel properties. This article highlights the following methods: