Is there any future for coding/software development in CRE Finance?
I'm currently a 1st year analyst in the finance side of the industry but come from more of a computer science background in college and have recently started to miss coding and thinking of taking a few udemy courses to get back into the swing of it. I'm wondering however, do yall think there will be much of a need for this skill in the future? I'm talking from now to 10+ years down the road. Is this something we might want to get proficient in now to get ahead of the curve? It just seems like such a necessary skill to learn and could be the future of plenty of different industries. What are yalls thoughts on this?
Edit: If anyone is interested the Python Masterclass on Udemy is currently 90% off for the next 3 days: https://www.udemy.com/course/python-the-complete-python-developer-course/
This was answered before. The consensus was no. However, having an extra skill can’t hurt and who knows what the industry will be like in 10 years.
This folks on this site are more focused on real estate transactions (development / investment) - they're deal makers - so you'll probably get a resounding 'no' for needing coding skills in CRE. They focus on the people skills, the ability to source and analyze deals, and great project management abilities to get a deal physically built.
Now, with that said, I have noticed a growth in some analyst positions wanting folks with VBA skills. Additionally, there are real estate private equity firms who are growing their data analysis departments to help drive strategy and find opportunity, and these folks will need to know Python / R / SQL. The folks are currently deemed more data analysts and come from non-traditional RE backgrounds, but anyone's guess if they rise through the ranks and become VP / C-level for Strategy in a REPE group.
Lastly, there's plenty of opportunities in the CRE space for someone who knows how to code...it's more entrepreneurial, figuring out solutions to some abstract problem the deal makers mentioned above face, but it can certainly be useful.
If you want to work in research or strategy learn to code. I work on a research team, and i would never hire an analyst that couldn’t. We even make them write some VBA during the interview to make sure they aren’t just putting it on the resume.
What kind of VBA skills do y'all look for? Had someone ask me about most desired VBA skills recently, and honestly wasn't sure except solid formatting and how to copy/paste/delete certain blocks.
I'd echo the above on research and strategy (my field). There will be positions in that require coding skills, however, those tend to be more "data specialists" type positions. As such, you really are working in the data, not necessarily expected to be a "real estate" person. That said, if I have two analyst type position applicants and one has research using Python/R and/or Stata/SAS and one does not.... you can guess which one I will more likely favor all else equal. So, there is value to knowing or being familiar for anyone looking to move up the ranks of research/strategy.
I am not sure if the 'data scientists' will move up to VP/C-level vs. move up in 'data' roles at other firms. The skills for the top/deputy roles tend to focus on speaking/writing and actually making and guiding real estate investment decisions.... so being a great coder would be 'neat' but def not used at that level. Like anything else, the top person or just persons promoted have to more rounded than specialized skills (like everything else in this world). Thus, it may become 'more' needed in the future.
If you are not interested in research and strategy, I don't think knowing coding is going to 'necessary', but you can use those skills to perform data analyses, speed up modeling, and other tasks. So, it may become more advantageous in the future, but right now I don't think firms are looking for it or giving it much of look as of now.
There is also the emerging areas of 'innovation and technology' in real estate firms, these may view knowledge of coding useful even if not a 'coding' position. i.e. it would helpful evaluate and work with tech vendors or investments in tech or even into tech firms. Seem more and more of these positions pop up last few years.
Having an extra skill is always welcomed. If you have time and will, I don't see any issue about you going for that.
In parts of proptech and structured product investing, yes it would be incredibly valuable and likely required for the latter.
But for REPE for example, not really. There just isn’t a ton of utility vs. soft skills and Excel/Argus. As others mentioned, there are strategy and analytics groups at companies that guide more macro level positioning and provide interesting high level research but the rub is that you are not a decision maker and are not really driving deal specific outcomes. The closer you are to decision making, the higher your career ceiling is.
cooL! man
Yes, send me a DM. Anyone who says no is in denial.
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