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The Real Estate Associate Program

The Program
With the enthusiastic support of industry leadership, REAP—the Real Estate Associate Program—is now widely acknowledged to be the most successful diversity initiative in the commercial real estate industry.

REAP is an industry-backed, market-driven program that finds and trains career-changing minority professionals for positions in commercial real estate, through education, networking, and on-the-job training with leading firms.

REAP exists because the commercial real estate industry’s professional ranks are less than 1% minority at management levels. Industry leadership recognizes that new markets open eagerly to firms that look more like the communities they serve.

Over 80 REAP Associates now work for leading firms in the industry, from London to Los Angeles, New York to New Mexico:

• Managing and leasing shopping malls and office buildings
• Developing new stores and income properties
• Analyzing investment opportunities
• Performing market research

Only 800-900 commercial real estate professionals are people of color, so REAP is responsible for almost 10% of that cohort. REAP spotlights a talent pool that was always there, but previously unacknowledged.

REAP’s recruiting process is competitive and selective, attracting credentialed, career-changing professionals—architects, accountants, bankers, engineers, lawyers, sales people—college graduates with 3-5 years of business experience. They know how to add value to a company’s bottom line while overlooking the slights that are sometimes a part of corporate America.

REAP has succeeded because it provides an opportunity for white employers to interact with potential minority professionals—not across the usual race gulf—but in the more comfortable, common concern of making money from a piece of income-producing real estate.

REAP’s success has been validated by leading minority groups like the Hispanic College Fund and the New America Alliance, and through its affiliations with the Business Schools at Howard and Clark Atlanta Universities.

Students
Each REAP Class of 25 students is selected from a pool of at least 200 applicants by a rigorous process of screening, testing, and interviewing.

Students have made their mark in other fields, including architecture, accounting, banking, construction, engineering, financial analysis, information systems, law, and sales.

Bright and highly motivated men and women, they want to make a career in the industry that is beginning to open new doors to opportunity.

Sponsors
Sponsors include leading firms representing a broad spectrum of the industry: office buildings…shopping malls…industrial parks…mixed-use developments. 

Each Sponsor teaches a weekly evening class for 3 consecutive weeks, hosts a networking reception, provides a 12-month paid professional position to a top REAP graduate, and makes a $10,000 Affiliation Grant to REAP.

Instructors are senior practitioners in their firms and have at least 10 years experience in management, leasing, development, marketing, finance, and related fields

The Education
REAP’s semester evening course meets once a week and focuses on how the real estate professional preserves and enhances value through increasing net operating income and reducing risk.

Areas of study include investment analysis and budgeting; maintenance and operations for office buildings and shopping centers; leasing & brokerage; development; marketing; and retailing.

The curriculum is patterned on professional guides published by the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC), the Urban Land Institute (ULI), Society of Industrial and Office Realtors (SIOR), and the Appraisal Institute.

REAP is affiliated with the business schools at Howard University in Washington, DC, and at Clark Atlanta University in Atlanta, Georgia, and with Baruch College in New York City.

Associate Training
Each year, REAP’s top graduates in each city are named “Associates” and awarded 12-Month professional positions with Sponsor firms. They train in property management, market research, development, financial analysis, leasing, and other related areas.

Salaries for Associates are set by the market through consultation with Sponsors. For the current New York Class, the floor range is $55-65,000. For Washington and Atlanta, the current floor range is $45-55,000.

Sponsors do not guarantee an offer after the 12 months; but many Associates do receive permanent offers from their Sponsors, and others find permanent jobs through REAP networking.

Networking
REAP and its Sponsors host three Networking Receptions during the semester course, so that REAP Associates can network with industry guests. They are also invited to educational and networking events hosted by ICSC, ULI, NAIOP, and other professional associations. Through REAP’s Career Counselor program, industry veterans counsel Associates on networking and career planning.

A Successful Model
REAP is not a high school dropout program. The typical student is 25-35 years old with a bachelor's or advanced degree and several years of business experience.

The REAP model was developed on the premise that lack of minorities in the commercial real estate industry is neither an accident nor the result of discrimination. A better explanation is that access is not by formal schooling like law or accounting. Instead, people gain access through networks of personal connections—family, friends, and colleagues.

Without such connections, entry into the field is difficult. REAP extends these networks to its Associates with a three-pronged approach—education, networking, and on-the-job training as a 12-month Associate.

REAP is both a 501c3 non-profit and a business proposition—through a highly competitive and selective process, REAP finds and trains mature, dedicated professionals for firms that want to change the face of the industry. The model is applicable to the banking, construction, and insurance industries, where entrance and success are also heavily based on personal connections.

Industry leaders recognize REAP as a win-win. Not only can the industry hire talented professionals for jobs that add value, but their companies can better match the fabric of their customers, clients, and communities.