Commercial Investment Real Estate September/October 2017 | Page 25

Pivotal Events in Commercial Real Estate
During the 1980s and 1990s
says Smith, owner of Metropolitan Realty Group
in Vienna, Va.
On the other hand, Myles left accounting and
went to work in 1972 for a family business in the
commercial real estate industry. Over five years,
he took five CCIM courses once a year in Denver.
“I had an 18-month stint without income,” says
Myles, owner and broker of Myles Enterprises in
Denver. “Finally, my practice came together. Later,
I was part of a consortium that owned and devel-
oped the Copper Mountain Ski Resort.”
Smashing the Ceiling
As CCIM Institute worked to broaden its member-
ship base, more women became involved. An attor-
ney recommended BK Allen, CCIM, take CCIM
courses in the late 1970s, because she was relatively
new to the industry. She took all the CCIM courses
in a year and earned the designation in 18 months.
“I owed the designation qualifying deals to what
the courses taught me,” says Allen, who earned the
pin in 1980.
Always an advocate for moving faster and
becoming nimbler, Allen shattered the Institute’s
glass ceiling in 1996, becoming the first woman
president of the Institute. “I didn’t consciously set
out to break the glass ceiling,” she says. “But I never
thought that I couldn’t do it either. I had my boxing
gloves on that whole set of meetings in 1993 when
I was a candidate for the first vice president, and I
was there with all my plans spelled out.”
Her candidacy initially provoked backlash from
the Institute’s old guard. But Allen had strong sup-
porters, too, such as D. Jeffrey Lenn, Ph.D, CCIM,
Robert Behrens, CCIM, and Bob Rosenberg,
CCIM, who helped her prevail. Her presidency led
to more women becoming designated and moving
up the ranks of CCIM leadership.
“I continue to encourage more women to get into
the commercial real estate industry and earn the
designation; commercial real estate is a good pro-
fession for women,” says Allen, owner and president
of BK Allen Real Estate LLC in Potomac Falls, Va.
The 1980s and 1990s broadened the range of
commercial real estate professionals who
earned the pin. Through the decades’
turbulence and prosperity, CCIM
Institute grew and embraced more
diverse members, including women.
Sara S. Patterson is executive
editor of Commercial Investment
Real Estate.
Quick Facts About
CCIM Institute
1980s:
Commercial real estate was becoming
out-of-control from the savings and loan
crisis and debt from junk bonds. It was a
decade of excess. Analysis and careful
deal writing were not in vogue. CCIMs
were an exception and were calling and
conducting careful scrutiny of transactions
to help minimize the risk.
• The community lending market
contracted from $150 billion to
$1 billion.
• 85% loan to value was not backed
by real dollars.
• In the midst of bad practices, CCIMs
yelled stop at the irrational exuberance.
• High leverage and bad analyses of
demand were rampant.
According to the Urban Land Institute,
the office market doubled, and shopping
centers were up 50%.
1980 1980 — Introduction of computers into the
CCIM courses
1981 1981 — D. Jeffrey Lenn, Ph.D, CCIM,
hired as a consultant for strategic planning
and faculty management.
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1982 — Debut of the Commercial
Investment Journal, which became
Commercial Investment Real Estate
1986 — CCIM courses first licensed to be
delivered in Canada by the Canadian Real
Estate Association.
1987 — Expanded CCIM
curriculum to include
user brokerage for
designation courses
1988 — First
CCIM conference
was held in San
Francisco with
600 attendees.
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1991 — What is now CCIM Institute was
renamed the Commercial Investment Real
Estate Institute and became independent
of RNMI and a direct institute affiliate of
NAR.
1995 — The Institute reached a record
high number of 7,703 students.
1996 — BK Allen, CCIM, was the first
woman elected Institute president.
1999 — Establishment of
Site To Do Business, which
uses multiple technology
tools to prepare CCIMs to
be competitive in the digital
space of commercial real
estate.
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
CCIM.COM
Historical
Milestones
1990s:
The beginning of the decade was a
reckoning for the excesses of the 1980s.
CCIMs were a stabilizing presence in the
industry. U.S. government formed the
Resolution Trust Corporation to handle
the assets of the failed savings and loans
that the FDIC could not manage on its
own. These failed savings and loans had
commercial properties on their books.
• RTC sold $456 billion of property — the
most in history. Organized vulture funds
and Sam Zell’s Equity Partners picked
up the pieces. It was a huge hit to U.S.
taxpayers.
• From the ashes of the RTC, the modern
REIT industry was born.
• Big companies were Kimco and
Crescent Real
Estate Equity.
• Wall Street
demanded new
accountability
and rigor from the
commercial real
estate industry.
• The first clearing-
house for data opened.
• After the party of the 1980s, CCIMs
added a new layer of analysis to
commercial real estate deals.