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Are you planning to start a career in commercial real estate soon? Instead of spending thousands on an intensive class that doesn’t quite work for your busy schedule, consider an online, self-paced commercial real estate course.
There are options for all skill levels and budgets. So, even if you already work in the field, you won’t have trouble finding an ideal course that piques your interest and helps you meet your career goals.
Benzinga is here to lend a helping hand as you explore options to find the best fit.
Quick Look: Best Commercial Real Estate Courses
Here’s a glance at Benzinga’s top picks:
- Commercial Real Estate Investing for Beginners by Udemy
- How to Get Started in Commercial Real Estate by Udemy
- Fundamentals of Commercial Real Estate Investment by Udemy
- Introduction to Commercial Real Estate Analysis by LinkedIn Learning
- The Commercial Real Estate Lease Modeling Master Class by Udemy
- Insider Secrets of Top Commercial Real Estate Agents by Udemy
- Effectively Lease Commercial Real Estate Properties by Udemy
- The Advanced Real Estate Development Modeling Master Class by Udemy
- Discover How You Can Invest In Apartment Buildings (Without Using ANY Of Your Own Money!) by Skillshare
What Makes a Commercial Real Estate Course Great?
Below, you’ll find the best online commercial real estate courses from LinkedIn Learning, Skillshare and Udemy. The classes are organized by skill level — beginners, intermediate and advanced students. We’ve also included a description and price point for each class to facilitate your decision-making process.
Facilitated by Experience Commercial Real Estate Professionals
You want a commercial real estate course led by a professional with extensive experience in the field. Refer to the instructor’s biography to learn more about their background in the industry.
It’s also essential that they convey the knowledge you need to excel in a way that’s easy to understand — course reviews shed light on their teaching style and how they’re perceived by students.
Includes Supplementary Resources
The best commercial real estate courses feature bonus materials to supplement the lectures, like readings, printables and quizzes. Look for these resources when evaluating your options.
Self-Paced
Avoid courses that impose strict deadlines, particularly if you have a busy schedule. Self-paced options are more flexible and allow you to spend as much time as you need on the lessons until you’re comfortable with the material.
Our Top Picks
Below, you will find Benzinga’s top picks from LinkedIn Learning, Skillshare and Udemy. We’ve also categorized the courses by skill level and included a description and enrollment fee to help you find the best fit.
Commercial Real Estate Courses for Beginners
Start with these courses if you’re new to commercial real estate.
1. Commercial Real Estate Investing for Beginners by Udemy
Who it's for: Beginners
Price: Free
Join commercial real estate investing coach and mentor Peter Harris as he walks you through the essentials of commercial real estate and tips for each type of property. He’s also the author of “Commercial Real Estate Investing for Dummies.”
There are lessons on what it takes to purchase your first commercial real estate investment property, the various asset classes investors target, pitfalls to avoid, how to evaluate deals and so much more. Harris also sheds light on what it takes to build generational wealth.
Commercial Real Estate Investing for Beginners includes 11 sections:
- Getting Started
- Investing in Apartments
- How to Buy Your First Multi-Family Apartment Building
- Apartment Loans 101
- Investing in Self-Storage Properties
- Investing in Shopping Centers
- Investing in Mobile Home Parks
- Investing in Office Buildings
- Property Management
- Avoiding Bad Commercial Real Estate Deals
- Conclusion
This free course can be completed in a little over 8 hours.
2. How to Get Started in Commercial Real Estate by Udemy
Who it's for: Beginners
Price: On sale
You can get the inside scoop on how to get started in commercial real estate from a seasoned professional. Inside this course, you will find 7 in-depth lectures from Kenneth T. Holman, Founder of the National Association of Real Estate Advisors.
How to Get Started in Commercial Real Estate consists of 7 segments:
- Introduction to Commercial Real Estate Brokerage
- Compensation for Commercial Real Estate Agents
- Establishing a Career in Commercial Real Estate Brokerage
- Tools of the Trade for Commercial Real Estate Agents
- Types of Commercial Real Estate
- Advantages of Commercial Real Estate Brokerage
- The Importance of Specialization
Register today for 2 hours of on-demand video and 1 downloadable resource. You will also get a certificate of completion when you reach the finish line.
3. Fundamentals of Commercial Real Estate Investment by Udemy
Who it's for: Beginners
Price: On sale
Fundamentals of Commercial Real Estate Investment is a highly-rated course from Illumeo Learning. It explores the commercial real estate (CRE) investment process from start to finish.
You will learn about the different types of leases on CRE properties and better understand the benefits and drawbacks of financial leverage in CRE. The class also dives into calculating and analyzing CRE investment returns through IRR, NPV and the capitalization rate.
Enroll today to access 1 hour of on-demand video, 2 articles and 2 downloadable resources. There’s also a 30-day money-back guarantee if the material doesn’t meet your needs.
Facilitator Joseph Ori is an experienced corporate finance and real estate executive.
He also holds Chartered Financial Analyst and Certified Public Accountant designations.
Intermediate Commercial Real Estate Courses
Do you have commercial real estate investing experience under your belt? You will find these intermediate courses useful.
4. Introduction to Commercial Real Estate Analysis by LinkedIn Learning
Who it's for: Intermediate students
Price: Included with the monthly membership
New to commercial real estate and interested in learning more about real estate asset classes? Look no further than this intermediate course from LinkedIn Learning.
Led by real estate investor, broker and consultant Symon He, Introduction to Commercial Real Estate Analysis entails the following segments:
- Overview of Commercial Real Estate
- Industrial Warehouse Example
- Retail Example
- Office Example
- Operating Assets
Enrollment is included with a monthly LinkedIn membership. Not yet a member? Sign up for a 1-month trial to access the class for free.
5. The Commercial Real Estate Lease Modeling Master Class by Udemy
Who it's for: Intermediate students
Price: $119.99
The Commercial Real Estate Lease Modeling Master Class teaches you how to model commercial leases for industrial, office and retail real estate using Excel instead of Argus. It is ideal for experienced real estate professionals and investors. Aspiring real estate investment professionals who want to pursue a private equity real estate career will also find this course useful.
Here’s a look at the syllabus:
- CRE Lease Modeling Fundamentals
- Part 1 – Building Out the Summary Dashboard
- Part 2 – Building Out the CRE Leases Tab
- Part 3 – Building Out the Monthly and Annual CF Tabs
- Part 4 – Finalizing the Summary Tab
- Wrapping Up
- Bonus Lecture: Udemy Student Bonus
Instruction is provided by real estate investing and financial modeling guru Justin Kivel.
Have basic knowledge of real estate calculations and finance terms before you register.
6. Insider Secrets of Top Commercial Real Estate Agents by Udemy
Who it's for: Intermediate students
Price: $94.99
If you’ve been selling commercial real estate but aren’t quite seeing the results you want, this is the perfect course for you. It pulls back the curtain on practical strategies top agents use to attain phenomenal levels of success.
Insider Secrets of Top Commercial Real Estate Agents is divided into these segments:
- Finding Properties in Today’s Market
- The #1 Way Top Commercial Real Estate Agents Get Business
- Creating a Schedule for Success
- Why CRE Agents Don’t Want to Work with Residential Agents
- Why Top CRE Agents Use a Coach
- The Ways CRE Agents Get Business
- How Top CRE Agents Structure Their Teams
- Using Dialers, Hiring Telemarketers and Cold Calling
- How to Get Sellers to List When Inventory is Tight
- How to Handle Property Tax Increases
- What Other States are Good for Investing
- Listing Presentations and Proposals
- Commissions and Objections
- What Uncertainties You Should Know About in the CRE Market
- 16 Top Agent Advice for New Commercial Real Estate Agents
The course is taught by internationally recognized commercial real estate expert Michael Simpson. He is the founder of the National Commercial Real Estate Association (NCREA).
Advanced Commercial Real Estate Courses
Seasoned commercial real estate professionals will find these courses useful.
7. Effectively Lease Commercial Real Estate Properties by Udemy
Who it's for: Advanced students
Price: $109.99
Effectively Lease Commercial Real Estate Properties is another highly-rated Udemy course worth considering if you want to make the commercial rental process seamless. It includes lessons on locating properties with ease, the variances between Gross and NNN leases, lease negotiation, representing tenants and landlords and much more.
Professor of Finance and accomplished commercial real estate professional Heather Boren divides the course into the following sections:
- The ABCs of Commercial Real Estate
- Establishing Your Marketing Strategy
- Agency Relationships
- Making and Submitting the Offer
- Negotiating the Lease
- Getting Paid
Sign up today for full lifetime access to 1.5 hours of on-demand video, 1 article and 6 downloadable resources.
8. The Advanced Real Estate Development Modeling Master Class by Udemy
Who it's for: Advanced students
Price: $109.99
The Advanced Real Estate Development Modeling Master Class is also presented by Justin Kivel. It‘s tailored to meet the needs of seasoned investment professionals who want to move beyond the basics of real estate development modeling and level up their skills.
He breaks the course down into the following modules:
- Advanced Real Estate Development Modeling Groundwork
- Part 1 – Building Out the Summary Dashboard
- Part 2 – Dynamic Commercial Real Estate Lease Modeling
- Part 3 – Commercial Real Estate Expense Modeling
- Part 4 – Building Out the Monthly Cash Flow Statement
- Part 5 – Building a Dynamic Construction Budget
- Part 6 – Modeling Commercial Development Financing
- Part 7 – Monthly Cash Flow Finalization and Creating the Annual Cash Flow Roll-Up
- Part 8 – Summary Tab Finalization and Error Checks
Sign up today to get instant access to 13.5 hours of on-demand video, 15 articles and 9 downloadable resources. The enrollment fee also includes a certificate of completion when you reach the finish line.
9. Discover How You Can Invest In Apartment Buildings (Without Using ANY of Your Own Money!) by Udemy
Who it's for: Advanced students
Price: Free
Do you want to invest in apartment buildings but don’t have much cash to spare? Skillshare's free course walks you through a practical step-by-step approach to getting started without pulling your hair out.
Discover How You Can Invest In Apartment Buildings (Without Using ANY of Your Own Money!) features 12 lessons:
- Course Intro
- Why Wholesale Apartments?
- Locate Sellers
- Evaluating the Deal
- Real Estate Math
- Walking Through the Numbers
- Negotiating Price
- Submit Offers
- Sending Letters of Interest
- Finding Buyers
- Closing Day
- Tools
It takes a little under 2 hours to complete the course.
Get Started with a Commercial Real Estate Course
Ready to accelerate your real estate career or start working as a commercial realtor? Consider a course from our list of top recommendations to put your plan in motion, meet your goals and achieve the career success you’ve always dreamed of.
Southern New Hampshire University Online
SNHU Online Offers:
- Flexible schedules
- Affordable tuition
- Online tutoring
- Access to electronic research materials
- Specialized academic advising
- Supportive online community