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A Closer Look: Baxter Newkirk

High school senior, aspiring real estate agent

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Editor’s note: Normally, the Business Record uses its Closer Look feature to introduce or profile a professional recently  in the news or someone we believe our readers should know more about. Today, we’re taking a look at career aspirations of a member of Generation Z, the generation after millennials. Generation Z currently accounts for about a quarter of the U.S. population and will be a larger group of workers than either millennials or their parents, the baby boomers.  How do they envision their working lives? What careers interest them? What motivates the next generation of business professionals?

We’re not aware of any surveys on this subject, but here at the Business Record, we’re willing to bet that there aren’t a lot of 18-year-olds who have looked into their future and pictured themselves as real estate agents. So, meet Baxter Newkirk. His father, Thomas Newkirk, is a prominent attorney. His mother, Sondra Newkirk, is senior director of brand licensing at Meredith Corp. Their own successful careers might have steered their son along one of those paths, but instead, Baxter Newkirk plans to sell real estate. He’ll start with residential properties because he wants to help people live out the American dream of homeownership. After that, he might move on to commercial real estate and the attractive commissions that come with a big sale. Earlier this year, Newkirk participated in the Better Homes and Gardens Gen Z Advisory Board. He also wrote an article about his views on the real estate profession that was published in October in RISMedia’s RealEstate magazine.

Why are you interested in the real estate business?
Well, I guess I’ve always been interested in the process of helping people buy a home ­– talking to them and learning what makes a house feel like a home because it will be different for everybody. That adds variety. More importantly, this job doesn’t revolve around a desk 24/7. You’re actually out and working in neighborhoods and communities. Setting your own hours is also a pretty sweet perk.

You say in the article that Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate helped confirm your career path. How so?
I think when I actually met people who are in the industry, it made me a lot more confident that this career is the right choice for me. I got a sense of what it’s like starting out and what it takes to go far in the profession. I feel I know more about what I’m getting myself into.

Do you have a backup plan just in case your interest in real estate wanes over the next few years? 
The core business program at (the University of Northern Iowa) should give me a strong foundation for whatever business field I might consider. I am also planning on a double major in finance, which should be very marketable.

The impact of millennials is getting a lot of attention these days, and has since the recession. What about your generation? How do you expect the market to play out when Gen Z is ready to rent or buy? 
I can’t say that I do follow anything real estate related beyond the news, but I think when it comes to my generation and from what I learned from (Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate’s) Gen Z survey, most kids today want to own a home. It’s the American dream.

Can you foresee a model different from renting or buying? 
Maybe leasing a home for a period of time like you would a car, but for a much longer time.

Do you also pay attention to the multitude of things that impact real estate, including the professions that are connected to the industry, design trends, building materials, demographic shifts, economic forecasts? 
Not yet. I’m only 18, but I know business cannot help but be influenced or impacted by all those things. Real estate is a complex business and a bellwether for the state of the economy.

You mentioned the University of Northern Iowa’s real estate program in the article. Have you settled on UNI, or are you still looking at schools?I applied and was accepted by UNI. I met the dean of the business school and a number of teachers during campus visits. I like the school, and they have 100 percent job placement for graduates like me in real estate.

What are your other interests?
Mountain biking, a good steak and dope beats (i.e.: good music, for you older readers).