As 2018 comes to a close, Raza Properties is looking back over what made the biggest impact on the company and city this year.  I had the pleasure of interviewing our very talented CEO of Raza Properties, Rahil Raza.  Throughout the interview, Rahil Raza shared his thoughts and opinion on various topics about the real estate development industry in Philadelphia.  Also, Rahil discussed some of Raza Properties biggest and best construction projects along with the challenges and accomplishments from 2018.

And, even more importantly, what can we expect for 2019?

The purpose of this review could help you make more educated choices when it comes to learning or entering the real estate development industry in the upcoming year.  It was truly fascinating listening to the instincts and projections by a trusted industry professional, Rahil Raza.  His stories and advice can help guide you to make the best decisions for 2019.

During the interview, I asked Rahil his thoughts on why everybody is talking about a recession and when he thinks the next recession will occur?  His response was very positive and optimistic, “I’ve been doing a lot of reading from various sources Urban Land Institute (ULI), Builders Industry Association (BIA) and National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) puts out good factual data and they all say the same thing.  The market is really strong and if there’s any fear, the fear is due to people remembering what the last recession was and recessions are just that.  Recessions are based on Psychology and no one can actually predict how people will feel, you can’t predict what the market is going to do. You can’t predict what’s going to affect the market and most probably what will happen with the next recession.  The next recession may not even affect real estate.”

Rahil continues to expand on his positive outlook not only on the 2019 market but also for all businesses, “I believe with any business you have to create a niche and if you create that niche with whatever you’re doing, it doesn’t have to be real estate; but if you create that niche, then market conditions will have less of an affect on you.”

Next, Rahil shared his thoughts about interest rates, “The interest rates are definitely higher and we have been thinking twice about refinancing loans when rates were in there low 4’s.”

Raza Properties faced some big challenges from 2018 and Rahil opened up discussing his opinion, “We learned a lot throughout this year.  Raza Properties, we got hit really hard with the high cost of construction materials. The price of construction materials towards the beginning to the middle of the year spiked.  This coupled with the fact that labor is in such high demand and quality laborers are so hard to find.”

Lastly, I asked Rahil what can we expect for 2019 for Raza Properties?  Rahil replied with lots of excitement, “2019 is going to be an amazing year for Raza Properties!  Raza Properties is finally going to have our own office located at 1325 N 18th St. The office is going to be a 2,000 square foot modern office unit with the latest in smart technology.”

In addition, “The Raza Properties office and co-working space will be available to anyone that lives in any of the Raza Properties buildings, they can stop by at any time for free coffee, to work on a project, to network or meet with colleagues.  It’s going to be a space that will bring all of the community together and we’re really looking forward to when it’s open.”

Stay tuned for PART 2 of Rahil Raza’s 2018 Real Estate Year In Review & Predictions For 2019 blog which will be posted next week, you won’t want to miss it!