The changing world of real estate: ASU offers new online program to help

From the foreclosure crisis to roller-coaster home prices and a trove of new investors, we’re watching the world of real estate dramatically change. This evolution has some real estate professionals looking to blur the lines between what they do now – and what they can do.

For example, general contractors may see opportunities to complete their own real estate projects, and some realtors are looking into buying homes for renovation and investment. A new online program from the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University will help address this.

“We’ve been talking with real-estate industry groups, and they see a need for a flexible, convenient program to provide an overview of the development process for current real estate professionals who want to expand their horizons,” says Mark Stapp, the Fred E. Taylor Professor in Real Estate at the W. P. Carey School of Business. “We designed the new online Real Estate Development Certificate program for this purpose. It teaches real estate fundamentals, law, investments and land development, all in an easy-to-use format from a top business school.”

The new online program is essentially a real-estate development education sampler, which lasts nine months. The first classes will begin on Oct. 1. Industry groups, including the Urban Land Institute (ULI), the Valley Forward Association, and the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP), have already taken an interest, and members will be eligible for a discounted tuition rate.

“In addition to the basics, we’re going to focus on responsible community development and themes like sustainability and creating real value for customers,” explains Stapp, an instructor in the new program and a developer himself. “There’s a new era of real estate construction emphasizing fewer cookie-cutter homes and more focus on buyers’ needs. We want to help real estate professionals deliver an even higher level of service to their clients, make better business decisions, and better position their products and their companies for revenue growth.”

Until now, Stapp only taught in the school’s Master of Real Estate Development (MRED) program, an in-person, one-year program for mid-level real estate professionals. He’s executive director of that program, which is in its sixth year and enrolls students from eight countries, who learn about design, law, construction and business. Many of the same seasoned faculty members will teach in the new online program.

Applications are already being taken for the new certificate program, and more information can be found at www.wpcarey.asu.edu/REDcert. Additional information about the in-person MRED program is available at www.wpcarey.asu.edu/mred. The school will also soon launching a new online publication about its real estate research and programs called knowRE, which will be available to the public at www.knowwpcarey.com/realestate.

The W. P. Carey School of Business’ other graduate programs include full-time and evening MBA programs ranked Top 30 in the nation by U.S. News & World Report, as well as an online MBA program on the publication’s “Honor Roll” of 14 online graduate business programs. The school’s Arizona-based executive MBA program is ranked No. 13 in the world by The Wall Street Journal.