The MFJS Reporter — Winter 2020 M-W

DENVER- What was once known for its close proximity to so many ski mountains and for its pioneering recreational cannabis legalization, Denver is now being viewed as one of the largest hubs for real estate opportunities in the United States.

In 1985, founder and owner of Elkco and Michigan native, Steve Elken saw Denver’s real estate potential well in advance and capitalized.

Elkco is a real estate and property management firm located off of I-70 that focusses on full-service real estate development, investment, and asset management. One of their local and notable properties is the building on East Evans Avenue that is occupied by the first ever Chipotle as well as the Starbudz dispensary and Anthony’s Pizza.

Although Elkco is local to Denver, its reach extends beyond the Colorado state lines and into Nebraska, Florida, Wyoming, Iowa, Michigan, and Missouri. However, Denver has been one of Elken’s most lucrative locations thus far.

“When I first got here (Denver), it did not look anything like it does today. But word got out about the real estate opportunities here and it took off.”

The Michigan native did not start off in real estate, however. Elken graduated from the University of Michigan with an undergraduate degree in American Studies and a minor in psychology.

After graduating, Elken played the occupational field for a few years before finding his passion for real estate. His first real estate venture began in Detroit, where he remodeled low income, single family government provided houses.

Elken then moved on to remodeling small, 12-unit abandoned apartment buildings in the Detroit area. Once he finally had some real experience under his belt and developed the necessary skills to become successful in the real estate field, Elken ventured on to bigger projects.

“A good real estate agent or property manager needs to have a solid understanding of their surroundings, the market, demographics, and so on, they need to be a strategist, but they also need to be a great listener and very personable,” explained Elken.

It’s not enough to simply possess all of the traits and skills Elken listed above in order to become a real estate agent. One must be at least 18 years old, possess a high school degree or an equivalent, and take and pass a real estate course in order to get your real estate license and become a broker. Since real estate laws differ by state, the test is different depending on which state you desire to work in.

After you are properly certified, in order to further advance in the field, it is simply a matter of experience. Starting with internships tends to be the popular method for most aspiring young real estate agents.

In Colorado, starting real estate agents earl an average salary of $81,862 yearly. An additional benefit of being a real estate agent in most agencies is that the agent earns commission based on their sales.

Like Elken did when he started out, most well-known figures in real estate and property management start out as a broker and work their way up after proving their ability and illustrating their successes.

When Elken moved out west to Denver in search of new opportunities and an “active real estate market” after Detroit’s recession hit in the late 1980’s, he started a job at a local firm called Marcus and Millichap.

From there, Elken remodeled and flipped larger multi-family apartments with a developer he worked for at the time. After that, Elken began managing local commercial properties.

While Elken may not be doing the strenuous daily activities and tasks an agent starting out in real estate is required, he certainly put his time in early and carries an even heavier burden of responsibilities now as he runs Elkco and manages dozens of properties across the country.

Elken remains extremely hands-on and active in daily office activities as he continues to facilitate property tours with prospective clients and personally analyze market trends to this day. Elken’s work load has not let up, working 50-hour work weeks despite his ownership position in Elkco.

With the prices of real estate rising quickly as more and more people move to Denver, Elken does not see himself leaving the field or the city anytime soon.

When asked about where he saw the future of real estate going in the next ten years, Elken said, “housing will be the biggest demand moving forward, whether it is for sale or for rent”.

The future is bright for the real estate industry. However, most good things come with change.

“In the next 10 years in the United States you are going to see less shopping center needs and office needs and more industrial needs,” explained Elken.