Brief Intro to Commercial Real Estate (Udemy.com)
Learn the essential fundamentals of commercial real estate
Created by: Symon He
Last updated July 2023
Our take
Based on the ratings of 3,352 students, a sample of their written reviews and the syllabus, as the course stood in July 2023. No course pays to be reviewed.
This is a commercial real estate primer from Symon He and co-instructor Brandon Young, about 12 hours across 133 lectures. The syllabus runs through core financial concepts, financing, leases and risks, then case studies on industrial, retail, office and multifamily properties. Long appendices cover returns, leverage and waterfall structures. It is labeled intermediate and lists real estate and finance basics plus Excel as requirements, though one reviewer from a non-real estate major found it a solid way in.
Students mostly praise clarity. Reviewers call Symon's teaching clear and concise, and the spreadsheet examples get credit. The waterfall equity segment comes up as a highlight, with one reviewer saying they only had a rough grasp of it before. Criticism is thin but specific. One reviewer says the asset class material is pre-pandemic and the underwriting stays high level. Another wanted more on commercial real estate itself before the investment analysis starts. One person could barely hear the audio, and one wished the videos were shorter. Only about 50 of 3,352 ratings are below three stars.
The last update was July 2023, so the market sections have aged, which one reviewer flags for office, retail and industrial. More than 17,000 students have taken it. It suits someone who knows basic real estate math and wants the commercial framework. Skip it if you need current market data or deep modeling.
Pros
- Reviewers call the teaching clear and concise, with relevant examples
- Spreadsheet examples show how commercial deals get evaluated, per reviewers
- Two appendix sections give 23 lectures to waterfall structures, which reviewers single out
- Case studies cover industrial, retail, office and multifamily properties
Cons
- Asset class material predates the pandemic, and the last update was July 2023
- One reviewer found the deal underwriting fairly high level
- Audio is too quiet for at least one reviewer; another wanted shorter videos
Coming from a non-real estate major, this course has been excellent at providing foundational knowledge of the industry.
Labeled intermediate; assumes real estate basics and Excel, though a non-real estate major found it a workable start.
What you will learn
- Be able to speak intelligently about commercial real estate
- Understand the key financial concepts for commercial real estate
- Understand and apply key analysis techniques to commercial real estate
- Understand the differences between the core asset classes
- Understand the emerging trends that will shape the future of commercial real estate
Course content
22 sections · 133 lectures · 12 hours of video 3 quizzes, 2 articles
- 1Course overview 2 free previews5 lectures · 26 min
- 2Foundations: Getting Acclimated with Commercial Real Estate 1 free preview5 lectures · 41 min
- 3Foundations: Core Financial Concepts19 lectures · 1.2 hours
- 4Foundations: Commercial Real Estate Financing11 lectures · 37 min
- 5Foundations: Spotting Opportunities6 lectures · 27 min
- 6Foundations: Introduction to Commercial Leases2 lectures · 28 min
- 7Foundations: Commercial Real Estate Risks11 lectures · 21 min
- 8Intro to Case Studies1 lecture · 9 min
- 9Industrial Warehouse Example3 lectures · 35 min
- 10Retail Example4 lectures · 41 min
- 11Office Example4 lectures · 44 min
- 12Multifamily Example3 lectures · 14 min
- 13Specialty Assets 2 free previews5 lectures · 53 min
- 14Congrats!1 lecture · 1 min
- 15Bonus: Easy Way Analyze Rental Properties, BRRRR’s, Flips and Wholesale Deals 1 free preview1 lecture · 20 min
- 16Appendix: Real Estate Cycles6 lectures · 34 min
- 17Appendix Measures of Returns12 lectures · 59 min
- 18Appendix: Impact of Debt Leverage4 lectures · 15 min
- 19Appendix: Investment Strategies5 lectures · 35 min
- 20Appendix: Intro to the Waterfall Framework18 lectures · 1.3 hours
- 21Appendix: Deep Dive into the Waterfall Framework5 lectures · 30 min
- 22New to Udemy? 1 free preview2 lectures · 20 min
Who it is for
The instructor says it suits
- Those seeking to a build a solid foundational knowledge in commercial real estate
- Investors who want to better understand commercial real estate before investing
- Professionals seeking exploring commercial real estate as a potential career path
What you need before you start
- Understanding of real estate investment fundamentals
- Understanding of basic real estate finance
- Microsoft Excel 2013+
How it compares
Against the other 75 rated Udemy courses in Real Estate on CourseDuck:
- Rating4.7 out of 5higher than 58% of them
- Reviews3,352#4 of 76 by number of reviews
- Length12.3 hourslonger than 89% of them
- Last updatedJuly 2023earlier than 64% of them
Course Description
UPDATE: Instructor Symon He hosts near daily LIVE office hours on TikTok 10:30PM PDT. Find him @SymonHe.
I’m very excited to unveil this brand-new course as part of my ongoing series in real estate investing. Although the course is new, this is not my first course. Just take a look at my thousands of 5-star reviews from my other courses to see the value and commitment I give to my students.
Gregory A. Weinstein on my Multifamily Investment Course- 5 Stars
“Course material is comprehensive, presented in an engaging manner and the modeling tools have real-world applicability making this course valuable!”
Mark Forest on my ‘Fundamentals of Real Estate Course - 5 Stars
“There is a tremendous amount of information in this course that far surpasses anything else offered by Udemy.
Jason Mora on my ‘How To Analyze Rental Properties Course - 5 Stars
“I'm loving it so far. The content is top notch. The instruction is clear and concise. The pace is perfect and the extra resources are enormously helpful. Well done!”
The commercial real estate game has long been reserved for big financial institutions and deep-pocked private investors, but not anymore.
With the emergence of crowd-investing platforms and the right investment knowledge, practically anyone can start investing in commercial real estate today.
Including you.
Whether you're new to real estate investing or have dabbled in residential real estate, getting an understanding of commercial real estate can seriously expand your investment horizons. However, you have to have some foundational knowledge before you get started.
With this course, you'll take the first crucial steps toward understanding commercial real estate.
Why should you learn from us?
I have an MBA from Stanford University and have worked on many commercial real estate properties across a dozen asset types in multiple markets. I even helped create the underwriting standards for a 2000-store private restaurant chain, helping them open new locations around the world.
And as a licensed broker and real estate consultant, I've helped many private clients with locating, evaluating, and structuring investment opportunities including multi-million dollar commercial property acquisitions and 1031 exchanges.
My co-instructor, Brandon Young, has a Masters in Real Estate Finance & Development from the University of North Carolina Charlotte as well as a Masters in Finance from Tulane University. He has over a decade of combined financial and real estate experience, including acquisitions and development.
Collectively, through our experience working with real estate private equity funds, private investors, development groups, and working within corporate real estate divisions, Brandon and I have involved commercial real estate deals worth well over $1B in aggregate completion value.
Enroll in this course and you will learn to speak confidently about the core concepts of commercial real estate.
We’ll start you off with simple foundational concepts, using easy-to-follow explanations (on purpose). We'll cover concepts like the replacement cost, highest and best use, absorption, and many key financial concepts critical to understanding commercial real estate.
We'll then dive into more than a dozen detailed case studies inspired by real-world commercial deals we've previously worked on, all paired with custom-built investment models so you can learn by doing, exactly how professionals evaluate commercial deals across a wide range of asset types.
Glenn Levine on my ‘How To Analyze Multifamily Opportunities’ Course - 5 Stars
“The instructor is exceptionally knowledgeable and keeps the course very informative and interesting!”
Ethan Wong on my ‘Pre-Investing” course - 5 Stars
“Yet another successful course from Symon. Even though I have some experience as an investor, I found this class to be quite valuable. Although I was already quite familiar & comfortable with the course material and topics, the experiences gained from completing the exercises showed me where I have a couple weaknesses in my network. That alone made the class worth my investment…”
This course does assume an understanding of basic real estate investment analysis and is great for those build a solid foundation in commercial real estate as well as those with experience looking for a detailed, but efficient, refresher.
If you want to build a solid foundational knowledge in commercial real estate, this is your course.
What’s holding you back?
Are you afraid this course won’t work? I promise you it will.
Are you afraid this course will work and you’ll actually have to start investing? I think that’s a pretty good problem to have.
Are you afraid it will take time and effort? It will. Real estate isn’t an easy business, if it was everyone would do it. But if you put in the work I promise you’ll see results.
Best of all, there is absolutely ZERO risk. Udemy gives you a 30-day money back guarantee to ensure you get what you pay for.
So go ahead, enroll today.
We look forward to helping you succeed!
~Symon & Brandon
Instructor Details
- 4.7 Rating
3,352 Reviews
Symon He
Symon He is the author of the Rental Property Investing QuickStart Guide, Amazon best-seller Real Estate Investing QuickStart Guide, and the co-author of Airbnb for Dummies, all available now on Amazon and in bookstores throughout North America.
He is also co-founder of LearnBNB, a leading online educational destination for all things Airbnb hosting and short-term rentals. His works have been cited or featured on the Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Forbes, CNBC, Entrepreneur, and SKIFT. Through his training and coaching programs, he has worked directly with thousands of aspiring Airbnb hosts to jumpstart their short term rental journeys. His training programs have been featured by prominent third-party partners, including a joint venture with RichDad.
As a licensed broker, Symon previously helped private real estate investors with their acquisitions and deal structuring. As an angel investor, he also advises and invests in early stage startups.
Previously, Symon worked in several corporate real estate and finance roles at large private and Fortune 80 companies, including at a private equity investment firm covering a wide range of commercial real estate acquisitions in the western USA.
Symon received dual degrees in Computer Engineering and Economics with Honors from UC Irvine and an MBA from Stanford University.
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Reviews
By Colin Kennedy on 6/26/2025
Coming from a non-real estate major, this course has been excellent at providing foundational knowledge of the industry. The curriculum builds on top of itself to provide a comprehensive understanding of finance, accounting and investment analysis as it pertains to real estate.
By Anonymized User on 11/30/2023
An exceptional explanation of the fundamentals of real estate finance and investment. I particularly enjoyed the segment on Waterfall equity structures, which I previously had a rough understanding of.
By Monil Paresh Mehta on 10/14/2022
Provided me with an in depth understanding of the sector, be it in terms of asset classes, subcategories, role of cap rate and discount rate and going about evaluating the property in discussion. I am confident that I can apply those learnings at workplace and enabled me to improve my understanding in turn the analysis part.
By Harikrishnan Mankada Covilakam on 10/5/2021
Started out with a section on investment analysis, without any prior explanation or introduction as to how the course would be structured. A bit confused, but will go on
By Ravi Sharma on 11/14/2020
It was great session. Learned new concepts
By Hemanth B Srinivas on 11/7/2020
good one
By Joanna SM Liang on 11/7/2020
It provide me some fundamental info about investment analysis.
By Linda Jorgensen on 11/7/2020
Yes, this is a good match. This is explaining what to look for in an investment.
By Pooja Choudhary on 10/25/2020
sound quality is very poor
By Prachi Gupta on 10/18/2020
Nice course
By Krista Zaloudek on 10/8/2020
Really covered a wide variety of topics. Appreciated the intro to the waterfall structure. Wish that it had more in the way of actually building the models. Look forward to taking more courses by the same instructor.
By Fredrik Diederichs on 9/17/2020
Perfect match for me! I'm somewhat new to the realm of commercial RE but have no problem following what's going on in the course. Good, relevant information straightforwardly explained and value-adding examples/Excel spreadsheets. Nice job!
Quality Score
No CourseDuck member has rated this course yet. Taken it? Give each part a thumbs up or down.
Overall Score : 94 / 100












