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Technology is transforming real estate—and BCIT Business + Media grads are ready

New opportunities make the opportunity-rich industry even more dynamic
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In real estate, the true professionals do more than adapt to change. They thrive on it. Today change in the form of technological advances is transforming an already dynamic industry even more—and graduates of the leading-edge Professional Real Estate program at the BCIT School of Business + Media are prepared and eager to apply their edge.

“Commercial and residential industry professionals have adapted new methods of servicing business-to-business, and new ways of leveraging and interpreting market data,” says Professional Real Estate Program Head Daniel John. “Advances in machine learning and artificial intelligence help track the buying and selling habits of consumers. With this, real estate professionals can better understand when and how to contact customers, businesses, suppliers—and to build even stronger relationships with them.”

Preparing students for the reality faced by constant change is a hallmark of the Professional Real Estate program, whose industry-connected instructors are up-to-date on the latest innovations. “They’re on the cusp because Real Estate is an industry always on the cusp,” John stresses. “For example, we’re looking ahead to fractional real estate ownership, where you buy or sell a part of a property along with other buyers. To be successful you have to keep thinking forward, thinking fresh. You have to accept that real estate is most definitely a full-time – and often more than full-time –career.”

He adds that the demands are big because the opportunities in real estate are big. “The industry is truly diverse, with careers in commercial and residential brokerage, appraisal, real estate development, crown corporations, real estate investment companies, property management, commercial mortgage financing, municipalities, marketing, just to name a few. Today’s real estate professional needs to be more well-rounded than ever before in leadership and teamwork, all with technology at the forefront.”

For students interested in a fulfilling career, the challenge is pure exhilaration, as Troy Abromaitis, Development Manager with Bucci Developments, can attest. “If you’re taking a specialty program, you have to take it seriously,” says Abromaitis, who graduated from the program in 2005 with John. “You require a passion for it, an intensity for learning about it. That’s how you get as much as you can out of the experience.”

Abromaitis also credits the work-integrated experience that’s a fundamental component of all BCIT business programs. Projects with industry leaders “force you to mature and become career-ready right out of the gate. You learn how to work with others’ strengths and weaknesses—and you take that holistic foundation of knowledge and understanding with you into the real world.”

Learning about the industry’s various aspects is valuable; experiencing them via project work is priceless. Upon graduation, students have a good idea what path they want to pursue. Says John, “Students get to experience what they want to experience, to determine what they like. We then pair our students with employers across all sectors of the real estate industry. After taking the program, grads have fulfilled the education requirement towards their professional RI designation, John notes. They are also able to challenge any of the licensing exams.”

For recent grad Zhal Sean, now a Development Land & Residential Sales Agent at London Pacific, the BCIT Professional Real Estate Program also provided the gift of confidence and determination. “They teach us that, if you do poorly on a test or project, you move forward. Don’t dwell on something you can’t change,” Sean relates. “It’s tempting to doubt yourself and give up. The BCIT Professional Real Estate Program won’t let you do that. They inspire you, they toughen you up. You gain the self-motivation, the grit, to keep going.”

John sees the industry continuing to grow both local and globally. “In reality, we haven’t even opened it up yet to the world! But as much as things evolve, success in real estate will always come down to work ethic, team spirit, and skill set. The industry will need more real estate professionals with those qualities—and our School of Business + Media graduates will be ready.”

Find out more about the BCIT School of Business + Media’s Professional Real Estate program, bcit.ca/realestate.