Significant Career Lesson From a Managing Broker at Buckingham Investments
Anthony, CEO/Managing Broker at Buckingham Investments, learned a crucial lesson during the current commercial real estate market shift caused by rising interest rates: "watch the debt, be careful of the debt." This lesson, learned after witnessing the consequences of high leverage during previous low-interest rate periods, underscores the importance of understanding and managing debt levels throughout a career in the industry.
Executive/Leadership, Real-World Examples, Industry Realities, Overcoming Challenges, Hard Truths
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Anthony Walker
CEO/Managing Broker
Buckingham Investments
University of Southern California
Loyola Marymount University - MBA
Spanish & Other Languages, International Relations & Affairs
Real Estate
Real Estate
Honors Student
Video Highlights
1. Understanding debt's impact on real estate is crucial.
2. The real estate market is cyclical; interest rate changes significantly affect investment strategies.
3. Leverage should be carefully managed to mitigate risk during market shifts.
Transcript
What is one lesson that you have learned that has proven significant in your career?
Right now, the commercial real estate industry is going through a serious period of change because of interest rates. Over the last two years, interest rates have more than doubled in many cases. This has completely flipped the script on how buildings operate and what people expected out of owning properties long-term.
The lesson learned for anyone in the real estate business long-term is to watch the debt and be careful of it. For most of my career, the first 10 to 12 years, I was picking up the pieces of the subprime crisis. Interest rates were super low, and you could get really high leverage when buying deals.
Everybody did this, and people just expected that that was going to go on forever. Now there's a rude awakening. A lot of people are in a lot of trouble because they took on too much debt. This is a lesson you hear about from people who have been in the business for multiple cycles.
However, you have to see it yourself to really learn and internalize what that means. You also need to find your level of comfort with leverage.