A housing career goes from bust to boom

Ed Solarz adapted to a changing real estate industry.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- When Ed Solarz graduated from college just a few years ago, he was drawn to one industry with lots of potential: home building.

Of course, that was before that segment of the economy was brought to its knees by a freefall in housing prices and record foreclosure rates.

Flash to the present and Solarz has a new job, in an industry that is thriving -- mostly thanks to housing's downfall. But he says reinventing his career in the midst of the Great Recession was no easy task.

Career in a bubble

After graduating from the University of Richmond in 2005, Solarz, 28, immediately went to work for a small custom home builder in Richmond, Va.

He was hired as a project manager specializing in $1.5 million to $3 million homes with high-end finishes. Those first few years on the job, Solarz says the biggest challenge was just keeping up with demand. "We had tons of business," he said.

"2005 was the strongest year we've ever seen," said David Crowe, the chief economist for the National Association of Home Builders. But in the years that followed, "financing and house prices started providing different signals," Crowe explained. "Financing got harder and home prices slid significantly downward."

When it came to commissioning custom homes, at first customers scaled way back, but eventually the market disappeared almost entirely.

"There were fewer and fewer jobs to go around, the custom builder just kept shrinking," Crowe said.

But Solarz crafted a contingency plan: he enrolled in an executive MBA program at his alma mater with a concentration in finance.

Solarz resigned from his previous position last year. By then, he was the last remaining employee with the exception of the president. "We had no work left," he explained.

Business is booming

With one year still to go before he completes his Master's, Solarz has already acclimated to the new world of real estate with a new job. He recently accepted an offer from Markel|Eagle Partners LLC, a Richmond-based private equity firm that currently specializes in distressed properties.

"I used my experience in the building industry and my MBA," he said.

Now he's an associate who evaluates the potential returns on unfinished projects on the cusp of foreclosure or bankruptcy. "There's lots of opportunity," he said of the possible investments.

Job market shows signs of slow growth

NAHB's Crowe calls the career transition a wise move. "Custom homebuilding is figuring out what a customer wants and you have to know the housing market. That's exactly the same mentality you need to buy up distressed properties."

Solarz says his intention has remained the same since he started working. "It's about creating value."