Werner (Ted) Kostendt has been a commercial real estate analyst and valuation specialist since 1980. He has been involved in some of the largest property valuations ever undertaken in the United States. For example, while employed at L.W. Ellwood & Company of New York, during which time he was promoted to Vice President of the firm, he was personally and primarily responsible for the valuation of the Pan Am Building, the largest office building in Midtown Manhattan. He played a key role in the appraisal of Rockefeller Center, a valuation which resulted in the largest dollar value conclusion in an appraisal up to that point in time. His experience during this time involved primary responsibility for the valuation of commercial property in more than 30 states throughout the country.
In 1991, Charles M. Ritley Associates of Cleveland asked him to join their firm to help develop a broader national clientele, to bolster the analytical capabilities of the firm, and to assist with the management of the professional staff. Working from the firm’s New Jersey office he established a range of new business relationships leading to major contracts with institutions in the Northeast and Southwest.
Ted established Western Reserve Land Economics (WRLE) in 1995. His clients continue to rely on him for solutions to their largest, most sensitive, and most vexing valuation problems. He has signed off on property valuations exceeding $7 billion involving properties throughout Ohio and the eastern United States.
After graduating from Kent State University with a B.B.A. in Marketing, Ted prepared for his career in real estate at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He received a Master’s degree in business with a major in Real Estate Appraisal & Investment Analysis. He studied a multi-disciplinary approach to the real estate process under Professor James A. Graaskamp and by noted urban land economist and land use policy theorist Professor Richard B. Andrews. The Department of Real Estate & Urban Land Economics at Wisconsin has been ranked as the #1 graduate real estate program in the nation by U.S. News & World Report.
Ted was invited to participate as a discussant at the annual meeting of the American Real Estate & Urban Economics Association in New York City commenting from the practitioner’s perspective on a paper entitled Estimating Real Estate Systematic Risk from Aggregate Level Appraisal Based Returns by David Geltner, MIT. He presented at the International Right of Way Association Appraisal Day Seminar in 2013 regarding his experience appraising major New York City office buildings. In 2015 he participated on and helped design webinar presentations for the American Bar Association and the Appraisal Institute. These presentations dealt with hydraulic fracturing’s impact on real estate value.
Ted has been sworn in as an expert witness in courts in Ohio and Texas. He has been an MAI designated member of the Appraisal Institute since 1989. He is an Ohio State Certified General Real Estate Appraiser #398722.