The CRE Industry have changed! By JM Padron

The industry of Commercial Real has definitively changed because clients have now access to tons of information about the markets and about the properties in specific.

Years before the commercial brokers had the information in their hands and formed secret fraternities to exchange listings and wants from the buyers. In those times only the commercial brokers possessed the data and sellers, landlords, tenants and investors were obligated to used them.

Nowadays with the Internet the situation has changed dramatically, clients can have easy access to the market directly or indirectly, it is called globalization or googlelization.

I personally think that nowadays exist many more opportunities in the Industry for savvy commercial brokers, but they have to go far and beyond what a commercial traditional broker used to do. That’s why is now more important than ever to have a full service commercial real estate team construct a strategic plan and help the client surf through these unchartered tons of information, many time misleading as in the case of forms such as Zillow. The full-service team helps the client better understand and address industry shifts, and the different services: Asset Services, Professional Valuation, Leasing, Capital Markets, Commercial Lending, Project & Management, Property Tax Appeals, Property Insurance and consulting.

Business operations have definitively become more efficient thru the years, retailers using online sales and reducing their retail boxes, office space is transitioning from perimeter offices with hard walls to more modern, open spaces with glass, which allows for more natural lighting and space saving, Warehouse operations using third party consolidation space to reduce their distribution space, Boutique Hotels filling the gap of traditional flag Hotels.

The Commercial Real Estate Profesdional mission is first to investigate what really are the client’s needs as related to the market conditions:

▪ How can the building accommodate the client’s operations?

▪ What's the Driving Time pattern? ▪ What’s the Traffic Count?

▪ Is the parking requirement met or exceeded?

▪ What’s the tenant improvements required?

▪ What’s the Demographics in the area?

▪ Etc, etc, etc ………

By completing the investigation phase and with the local market knowledge the CRE specialist  can assist and advice the client in the right direction.