Bill James

Bill James, MAI, CCIM, MBA, is a leading consultant in the fields of real estate, affordable housing and public transportation, with extensive experience integrating advice for commercial and residential real estate development and management with a variety of modes of transportation.

Bill began his real estate appraisal career in 1973 with the commercial and investment appraisal firm of Shorett and Riely in Seattle, Washington, and opened the company’s first branch office in Anchorage, Alaska. In Denver since 1976, he earned an MBA degree from the University of Denver in Real Estate and Construction Management in 1979.

In 1982 Bill started James Real Estate Services, Inc., a diversified real estate advisory firm with a foundation of commercial and residential appraisal, appraisal review, market analysis, brokerage and investment advisory services based in Denver. JRES assists clients with strategic direction and specific decisions for a wide variety of real estate situations.

As transportation-oriented development, apartments and affordable housing have become important segments of all real estate, JRES increasingly advises clients in these areas. As cooperation with the surrounding community becomes more important to real estate decisions JRES advises property owners, lenders, governments and community organizations with market- and investment-based real estate research and analysis.

Over the years, while conducting appraisals and market studies on a wide variety of semi-rural, residential, general and special purpose commercial and investment properties, in addition to general real estate consulting and appraisal, Bill has managed rezoning efforts and development and redevelopment projects, instructed appraisal courses, and arbitrated and managed property tax assessment appeals.

Bill is a Certified General Appraiser (former member of the Colorado Appraiser Board) and a licensed Real Estate Broker in Colorado. He has been accepted as an expert witness in several jurisdictions and has performed appraisals and consulting assignments on many special purpose and narrow market properties, and under unique circumstances.

Bill has prepared and taught appraisal courses at the University of Denver, University of Colorado, Community College of Aurora, Denver Metropolitan Commercial Association of Realtors and Colorado Association of Realtors. In the Appraisal Institute, Bill was chair of the General Appraiser Council, Admissions Appeals Board and the General Experience Subcommittee. At the AI he was a member of the Board of Directors, Admissions Committee, Regional Ethics and Counseling Panel, Appraisal Standards Council, Master’s Degree Program Subcommittee and Board of Directors of the Colorado Chapter.

In 1997, Bill assisted in the formation of Transportation Solutions, a local transportation management association which encourages the use of alternative modes of transportation to single occupancy automobiles and transportation-oriented real estate development in southeast Denver and served on its Board of Directors until 2019. In 2008 Bill was publicly elected to the Board of Directors of the Regional Transportation District in the Denver metro area. RTD is building the largest voter approved public mass transportation project in the county, known as FasTracks. In 2012 Bill was elected to the Board of Directors of Housing Colorado, the professional association for developers, lenders and owners of affordable housing.