Part 1: Membership Diversity

For most of my career in organized real estate, until the recent rise of MAGA and the Anit-Woke movement, the pursuit of diversity in CRE was almost universally considered a noble cause, just as it was in American society as a whole. Both recognized historic inequalities and prejudices, so society (Affirmative Action, Fair Housing Act, Equal Opportunities Act, etc.) and the business community set to make it right.  For some association leaders, it was a token gesture politically attuned to the times.  For others it was a personal and heart-felt crusade.

Before joining CCIM, I was administrator of the San Francisco Chater of the Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM), a sister institute under the NAR family.  The culture of its membership was significantly different from that of CCIM.  Property managers usually ascended through the ranks of their companies, often starting as marketing associates for multifamily residential properties.  Some got their start in residential real estate, but decided that they wanted a secure monthly paycheck, rather than an unpredictable commission check in the rock-and-roll real estate market. Many new property managers were people of color and varied national origins hired on as entry-level employees of large apartment complexes. Often they saw a future in property management and turned to IREM for the education they needed to pursue this career.

CCIM in contrast, had a membership largely fed by residential agents who thought they wanted to become commercial real estate brokers.  Until the mid-1990’s most of these agents were middle-aged Caucasian men, usually with college degrees and some success as residential agents or brokers. Maybe they fell into a commercial transaction and liked the outcome.  However, many of these aspiring CRE agents quickly became disillusioned and dropped out after they took their first Intro class or CI 101 when they learned that CRE is a numbers game, not a people game.

People People versus Numbers People.

I contend that there are basically two personality types that are attracted to real estate.  There are “People People”—those who are most comfortable establishing one-on-one relationships with home buyers and sellers who they met through cultivating their “farms.”  They are active in local Rotary Clubs, churches or Chambers of Commerce. Their goal is to close a deal, make their buyers or sellers happy, and hopefully get a referral that leads to another deal.  And so on. This personality type is comfortable in the residential real estate climate, not so much when it comes to the math.

Then there are the numbers people – those who are comfortable calculating the IRR, or Cap Rate, or any of the dozen other calculations with acronyms that are recognized shorthand in commercial real estate investment analysis. Hence Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM), itself an acronym that no respectable PR firm in the 21^st Century would take credit for. I can’t even count the number of times I have watched a longtime designee stop to think for a moment in response to the question: “What does CCIM stand for?” But, so it goes.

This observation is obviously an oversimplification.  Successful people in either career path have some combination of both personality types.  But I think you get the point.

Membership By The Numbers

Quantifying membership demographics is a tricky science. Actually, it is not science at all. There is no census, no application information—nothing in CCIM’s database that will tell us a person’s ethnicity, national origin, or even gender.  Unfortunately, the only tool we have is the subjective classification of names. Classifying gender is usually a no-brainer based on first names. National origin based on surnames is lousy science.  It is stereotypical and does not take into account the number of generations that have passed since immigration.  But, arguably, if we apply the same criteria to each database we are comparing, the result will indicate reasonably accurate trends.  So, take a look at the pies.  Notice any trends in chapter membership demographics?

We would like to share your thoughts: NorCalCCIM@ccim.net.
By Terry Shores
April, 2024