Business school building real estate program

Brad Nettles
The Post and Courier

College of Charleston senior Todd Turcotte (eft) gives a real estate proposal to his instructor Jon Wiley (rront right) and his classmates Friday, November 16, 2007.

At age 27, Will Riggs isn't a typical senior at the College of Charleston.

He spent four years in the military and bought a condominium near his hometown in northern New Jersey before deciding to pursue a business degree.

But even though he's familiar with the homebuying process, Riggs said he learned far more about the real estate industry through two college courses. Now, he understands how the refinancing process works, and his class this semester is about how appraisers assess property values.

"There's so much more to real estate than residential and commercial (sales)," he said.

With that in mind, the college's business school is in the process of putting together a real estate program that will cover more than basic property-selling techniques.

Professors are developing a course list that will teach students about the ancillary professions that crop up in the industry, such as land planning, environmental engineering and lawyering. And after a nationwide search, officials say they're close to naming the new program's director.

The hope is that the program will change the way many budding real estate professionals study the trade locally. In the past, most newcomers learned from relatives or cut their teeth on the job, while others learned basic transactional information through licensing courses.

"You had to get on board with a large commercial real estate firm to teach you the ropes," said Charleston developer Chris Price, a volunteer on the center's board of advisers.

But once the program is fully in place, professors hope that students will be able to graduate with a keener knowledge of how real estate works and parlay those smarts into a successful career.

"The industry is going to become more professional, and the best jobs are going to go to those who know how it works," said Jon Wiley, the program's interim director.

In development

The idea for a real estate center was kick-started by Atlanta developer Ben Carter, who helped donate $1.5 million about a year ago to start the program. His mother-in-law, Jane Middleton, is a descendant of one of the college's founders, Arthur Middleton. Carter and his wife, Tricia, also have two children, daughter Palmer and son Ben, who graduated from the school.

In turn, the college has named the program the Carter Center in Real Estate.

Right now, Wiley said, it is in the "developing" phases, offering four classes on real estate covering basic concepts, such as market analysis and financing.

Professors are working to create a broader curriculum that would give students a taste of the different facets of real estate, such as development, construction, environmental engineering, investing, urban planning and architecture, he said.

"There's the transactional real estate industry, which is the residential and commercial brokerage that everybody sees," said Price, a principal at PrimeSouth Group. "But the program is larger because it encompasses the whole industry."

At an informal meeting about the program, most students said they were most curious about real estate investing, development and commercial brokerage.

Some subject areas already are taught in other parts of the college. For example, the history department offers a course on urban planning that one day could be incorporated into the program.

Within the year, students could graduate with a real estate "concentration," a distinction similar to a minor that requires fewer courses.

Wiley said that candidates for the director's job have impressive resumes and a "jack-of-all-trades" background in real estate.

The school also will hire an internship coordinator who will seek out work opportunities for students in the local real estate industry.

"That gives us the opportunity to get plugged in to the community," Wiley said.

Carter said he hopes to join the teaching staff one day. He said he learned about real estate "around the breakfast table," listening to his father talk about various deals.

College try

Real estate is a relatively young academic discipline compared with subjects such as English literature and history. Carter noted that most university-level programs are offered only to graduate or Ph.D. students.

Clemson University doesn't offer an undergraduate degree in real estate, but students can take classes in land planning. Graduate students also can study real estate development, a relatively new program that has grown over the past decade, said Clemson spokesman Ross Norton.

The field of study is more well-rooted at the University of South Carolina, which has offered a real estate major since 1968. Students who obtain that degree can end up working in areas such as mortgage banking, appraisal and financial services.

The cost of a four-year education, not surprisingly, far surpasses the amount that people pay to obtain a basic, state-issued real estate license. Tuition at the College of Charleston costs about $7,700 for in-state students and about $18,700 for others compared with the several hundred dollars it takes to study and register for a sales exam.

Melissa Sprouse-Browne, who co-owns The Real Estate School of South Carolina, said she welcomes the idea of a real estate program at the university level. Though her company competes for people who want to learn about the business, she said a college degree in any field makes a person more well-rounded.

Also, at her Columbia location, instructors have found that some USC real estate students who fail the licensing exam will sign up for test-preparation services with her business.

"I still think we have a place in the world because we are exam-oriented," she said.

Reach Katy Stech at 937-5549 or kstech@postandcourier.com.