Real Estate and Opportunities for Commercial Development: The interesting aspect of Andrew’s real estate career is that he was born and raised in Eastern Pennsylvania near Philadelphia (ask him if he grew up near Doylestown). While at Pitt Business, he started to see potential in Pittsburgh’s real estate market, which has led him to build a large portfolio of apartment buildings and commercial properties in the North Side, the South Hills, Moon Township (near the airport) and the West End (among others). Given what you know about local real estate in an area that you are familiar with, which specific neighborhoods would you target for your portfolio (i.e. what is the commercial potential?)
Where I have grown up, there is very little money and consequently real estate is a small market. However, near my hometown is Lake Wallenpaupack, a staple of the Poconos. It attracts many wealthy individuals from the NYC area with its beautiful, relaxing atmosphere. There is also a community resurgence to bring visitors back to the area from the city, as numbers declined in the 1990s and 2000s. This combination of established money and a trend of development in the area indicates a prime opportunity for real estate investment. I would aim for both high end and affordable summer housing for the incoming seasonals as well commercial properties to capitalize off the flow of money. However, I would advance through this process slowly as it involves heavy risks and would take time.
The Social Impact of Real Estate: In addition to the commercial opportunities in the Pittsburgh real estate market, Andrew also emphasizes that real estate has tremendous potential to generate a positive social impact by supporting a stock of good quality apartments at affordable prices – with an emphasis on supporting financial literacy among his tenants. Based on the area you wrote about above, which neighborhoods that you know of could benefit from this combination of good quality apartments with reasonable rent (plus an attention to financial literacy)?
The area I addressed has a wide variety of socioeconomic levels. Despite the big money attracted to the lake, the native population actually has a quite large impoverished portion. With the combined effect of providing affordable housing and investing in the community with the money of seasonals, real estate could greatly benefit the livelihood of this population. The educational levels of many of these families is also low. Providing information to these people about their finances would be of great benefit, both for them and the income of the property. Additionally, drug use, especially heroin, is an epidemic in NEPA. The construction of these properties would also discourage drug use with certain features (I’m sure they exist). In this way, real estate would be incredibly socially beneficial to the area.
Other Examples Like This?: Based on your review of real estate as an area for opportunities in commercial development and social impact, how do you see real estate being relevant in the work you want to do in the future?
I do not see myself involved with real estate as a broker in the future, but it is obviously important to make intelligent decisions in the realm of real estate from any standpoint. Be it relocating a company or building a supply chain, location and cost of real estate can make or break a business. Being able to buy and sell properties in the right place at the right time is a pivotal role of a manager, and I can see that coming up in my future with a finance background. More generally, the concept of researching and analyzing market trends to maximize an investment is a key skill in finance, and something I plan on studying at the visit for application in the future.