Owning a construction or real estate company means you must stay abreast of trends, news, information and opportunities, so use real estate and construction publications to your advantage. Excelling requires current knowledge of your industry and closely related industries so you can make informed decisions affecting your company’s future.

Banks, real estate firms, development companies and law firms all publish various types of publications focused on helping anyone working in the real estate industry. As you search for construction and real estate industry publications that deliver the information you need and can trust, consider the following sources:

1. Subscribe to an online or print real estate and construction magazine.

2. Download or order real estate journals.

3. Use other residential or commercial real estate publications when you need specific information.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Add construction and real estate magazines to your list of resources at your finger tips

Construction and real estate periodicals can provide quotes, facts and statistics for presentations to potential clients or banks you want to work with, and you'll find these resources at your finger tips, or in your mail box.

I recommend: If you focus on residential construction, subscribe to Builder Magazine for information on trade secrets, tech tools and creative marketing tools. Order The Real Estate Professional, a magazine dedicated to real estate sales and management. Visit the online real estate news publication Commercial Property News. Since 1988, CPN has provided objective coverage of the commercial real estate industry's key trends and issues through print, online and other products.

Use real estate journals to study issues in more depth

Real estate journals focus on research topics that can help build your real estate industry knowledge base.

I recommend: You don’t need a membership to access five journals published by the American Real Estate Society, an association of real estate thought leaders, educators, real estate professionals and anyone interested in real estate research. The ARES journals deal with real estate research, literature, portfolio management, practice, education and housing research. If you find an appealing title and can afford it, purchase one of the Research Issues in Real Estate from Springer, a company that passes on valuable information through books, journals and the Internet. The company has published works from more than 150 Nobel prize winners in the past.

Explore other real estate industry publications for quick answers

When specific questions nag you and you need to find an answer, look for real estate news publications, real estate developer publications and real estate broker publications to find what you need.

I recommend: Download the 2008 Real Estate Industry Survey at Grant Thornton, a global accounting, tax and business advisory organization. They surveyed 341 real estate leaders to learn the latest trends in attracting new tenants, financing, cutting costs in lean times, going green and acquisition opportunities. If you work as a real estate broker, go to the Alexander Communications Group to order Broker’s Best, the free E-newsletter providing real estate management information that comes to your Inbox twice a month. The company's founding editor started the newsletter and other publications after noticing a lack of available information on management challenges for real estate brokers and agency owners. Visit the High Construction Company online Resource Center to view the quarterly Constructive Advice publication that advises building owners and facility managers on construction project issues and Real Estate Matters, a quarterly publication offering solutions and ideas for real estate challenges in construction, development, site selection and other areas. When you don't have time to scour magazines, go to MagPortal.com to find current construction and real estate articles. The website started up in 2000 and serves as a search engine and directory for finding articles in real estate, construction and numerous other topics.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Don't spend a lot of money on real estate publications to get useful information. Look for free subscriptions to trade publications and websites that allow free downloads of white papers, surveys and other publications related to real estate and construction.