Although the
escalating commercial real
estate recovery may reinforce the sense that "it's back to
business as usual," to those responsible for recruiting brokers in the CRE
industry, 2013 hardly seems like business as usual at all.
More and more brokerage firms are actively recruiting new prospects who possess
highly specialized experience and skillsets capable of understanding and
addressing the real estate needs of firms across the technology, finance, REIT
and CMBS industries.
While there is still no substitute for experience, those responsible for
bringing in new talent increasingly are looking to attract those with
specialized skills to bring to CRE brokerage according to David J. Rubenstein,
principal of Cresa Atlanta, who is actively hiring new brokers locally and
nationally.
"Particularly
with regard to younger brokers who may not currently have significant books of
business, we look for ones that have unique skillsets that help us secure new
business and execute business once it has been secured," Rubenstein said.
"Examples would include a comprehensive understanding of social media,
interior and base building design, construction, financial analysis and capital
markets."
"I agree that the qualifications for working effectively as a CRE broker
have expanded," said Rachel Maman, managing broker for Boston Investment
Realty in Newton, MA. "Besides already having degrees in business with a
focus on marketing and/or finance just to get their foot in the door, the new
generation of brokers will also have to have strong skills in social media and
alternative forms of e-marketing. Experience in zoning, permitting and planning
is another skillset that is quickly becoming another basic requirement."
"If the '90s was the Environmental Decade, then we are now in the Urban
Planning decade or decades," said Francis P. Rentz, senior commercial
advisor of SouthLand Commercial Advisors Inc. in Tallahassee, FL. "You
need to learn what they are teaching the urban planners in college because they
are all now taking jobs at these cities and implementing what they have learned.
How to stop traffic congestion, How to stop sprawl, How to stop sewer plant
problems, How to make bus service work… they have an "app" for all of
these problems."
Speaking the Language of Business
Aside from business experience, individuals who can quickly size up and
understand a company's operations, business model and competition rank very
high on recruiters' wish lists. Having a deep acumen also rates highly.
"To be a successful broker in the industrial real estate marketplace, one
has to be able to speak the language of a very broad constituency of owners,
users and tenants," said Rick Vanderbeck, marketing/leasing director of
First Industrial Realty Trust in Pine Brook, NJ. "Many pension funds have
increased their allocations to industrial properties as they seek yield in the
current low interest rate environment."
To be in a position to provide valuable advice to sophisticated investors like
pension funds, brokers need to be keenly aware of various investment
strategies, underwriting criteria and possess impeccable market knowledge,
Vanderbeck added. They're also expected to have a working knowledge of
investment criteria, cap rates and supporting market fundamentals. Finding
qualified candidates is becoming an increasingly tall order.
"With brokers in big markets who work for big CRE firms that support
Fortune 1,000 firms, there is definitely an increase in specialization,"
said Chris Gary, vice president | industrial services of NAI Hiffman Commercial
Real Estate Services in Oakbrook Terrace, IL.
These days, brokers are not just specializing in office, retail and industrial
property. Logistics, food production, and LEED are some of the areas that have
increased in specialization in recent years, according to Gary, adding these
sub-specialities affect roughly 20% of the brokers at those companies.
Also gone are the days when a broker would arrange the initial outline of a
deal and then 'hand it off' to the numbers guys to hammer out the details.
Commercial brokers today are expected to possess financial expertise.
"Being able to demonstrate overall cost savings to buyers/tenants is an
increasingly crucial component of the job," Gary said. "I have an MBA
with a concentration in finance, and I've found myself dusting off old
textbooks in recent years as finance has become increasingly important."
Also being able to 'switch gears' and adjust your approach to the specific
business of client is also crucial.
"I used to work for a Fortune 50 company (AT&T), so I feel that I can
speak the language of corporate managers," added Gary. "It's a
different skill set than talking to small- to medium-sized business owners,
where the real estate expense more directly affects their take-home pay."
Gary Metzler, managing director/ broker of Metzler Enterprises in McKinney, TX,
said he has drawn on his architecture license and a long career in high tech to
distinguish himself to clients who are typically technology or medical industry
related.
"I'm using numerous skills I picked up in the high tech (semiconductor)
industry; strategic planning, cost effective execution, a brutal adherence to
schedules, plus insight on the global workplace- cultures and diversity."
Asked To Provide and End-to-End Services
"I have been in brokerage now for three years after spending a little more
than a decade in office furniture, interior design and construction," said
Dan Thomson, transaction advisor of DTZ, a UGL company in Raleigh, NC.
"Companies and real estate executives are being asked to maximize their
workplace resources and the only way to do this is through a holistic,
end-to-end approach."
Being in a position to advise clients on a broad range of real estate-related
issues, from design, project/construction management and capital expense
forecasting to change communication, workplace trends and understanding
generational differences in the workplace has given Thomson a competitive edge.
"I'm able to provide enhanced value to executives seeking to know more
than the best rate they can get on a space."
Increasingly, CRE headhunters say, it's getting very difficult for people just
graduating from college to break into brokerage. Competition comes from
business executives with years of experience who decide to make a career
change, such as Craig Daste, owner of High Performance Properties in Metairie,
LA, who sold his construction business 10 years ago and then began a full time
career in commercial real estate.
"The many years past experience negotiating with various sub-contractors,
suppliers, bankers, and customers made things much easier when we started
rehabbing office properties in the New Orleans area following Hurricane
Katrina. Cost controls implemented during renovation along with controlling
monthly property management expenses are important for your success,"
Daste said.
"We also found the commercial bankers were more at ease knowing they were
lending to investor/owners with a history of job completion and controlling
work schedules," Daste added.
"Generally, qualifying to be a commercial broker at our firm is harder
[because] many more applicants today have better resumes than in the
past," said Ken Ulsaker, executive vice president, Commercial Division of
Long & Foster Real Estate in Vienna, VA.
"Currently our brokers have come from the following backgrounds: lawyers,
lobbyists, business owners, salespeople from various compatible industries,
experienced real estate brokers, developers, computer consulting firms,
executives from fortune 500 firms, commercial property managers and commercial
appraisers."
Ulsaker said his firm looks for applicants with highly specialized skillsets,
such as having a vital knowledge base to satisfy a specific clientele or a
complementary skill to what the firm already offers, including those who who
can better tap into the large minority commercial activities. By Mark Heschmyer at COSTAR
May 29, 2013
For more information on Houston office space, Houston
retail space or Houston warehouse space and
Houston industrial space, please call 713
782-0260 or see my web site at : www.houstonrealtyadvisors.com
Thank you for your interest.
Regards,
Ed A. Ayres
Houston Realty Advisors, Inc.
Mitaquye oyasin
Posts
