Research and Re-visioning

Practice the skills necessary to acquire, apply, analyze, evaluate, create, organize, re-organize and re-vision based upon new knowledge as part of a process of lifelong learning.

The backbone of any good plan is a strong knowledge base, the only way to gain that knowledge is through extensive research. Developers need to know their market, their client, and their general concept like the back of their hand. If a plan is cobbled together without that necessary knowledge, it will show. Having done that research, a developer will be able to sense when it’s time to change gears and try a new approach if something isn’t working.

Extensive research and life-long learning are two things I am passionate about. I love to learn as much as I can about a subject so I can speak with full confidence about it when I need to. Through this entire program, we have been encouraged to do exhaustive research before commencing on a project. Many of the market analysis tools we learned in LDEV 664 are for that exact purpose. In LDEV 688, our capstone course, we conducted our site analysis and market analysis several weeks prior to submitting our land plan, as to allow us the time to do that necessary research and change our concept if needed. My team had originally planned on incorporating office space into our mixed-use project, but after conducting the market analysis, we decided to not include office space because we concluded it would not be an economically wise decision based on the market data. In the constantly changing world of real estate, it is imperative that we have the willingness and knowledge necessary to alter our initial concept.

In LDEV 689, we were assigned to read and write an analysis of Creating and Growing Real Estate Wealth by William Poorvu. This book really impressed on me that a developer has to constantly keep an eye on the market and adapt accordingly. It details real estate entrepreneurs who had to either create their own path or drastically change their path in order to survive in real estate. This book has really inspired me to think critically about what I want out of my career and to gain the necessary tools to create my own path. To me, that is the embodiment of re-visioning. Click below the read my analysis of the book.