Archives for 2018

“Commercial real estate professionals are reporting great growth in the past year, which has convinced more and more members to enter the commercial industry.”

Commercial real estate realtors that are members of National Association of Realtors reported both an increase in gross income and sales volume last year, according to the association’s 2018 Commercial Member Profile. The annual study looks at the realtors who are members of NAR and who conduct all or part of their business in commercial sales, leasing, brokerage and development for land, office and industrial space, multifamily and retail buildings, as well as property management.
The top line finding of the report: 2017 was a good year for the community. “Commercial real estate professionals are reporting great growth in the past year, which has convinced more and more members to enter the commercial industry,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun.
It found that the median gross annual income for commercial members hit an all-time high of $150,700 in 2017, up from $120,900 in 2016.
The median sales transaction volume in 2017, among members who had a transaction was $3.87 million an increase from the median sales volume of $3.5 million in 2016. NAR also reports that the median dollar value of sales has also steadily risen since 2013 to its peak of $602,500 for all commercial members in 2017, up from $543,500 in 2016.
The median gross leasing volume was $705,500 in 2017 for members who had a transaction, an increase from $538,500 in 2016.
Brokers and brokers’ associates reported the highest annual gross income of $186,900 and $139,700, respectively, while sales agents reported $104,600, an increase from $81,300.
Commercial members with less than two years of experience reported a median annual income of $44,000 in 2017, up from $31,500 in 2016; and those with more than 26 years of experience reported a median annual income of $192,600 in 2017, up from $162,200 in 2016.
The report also noted that transactions had slightly declined for the year — commercial members completed a median of seven transactions in 2017, down from eight in 2016.
By: Erika Morphy (GlobeSt)
Click here to view source article.

Now, most landlords are saying they want a part of their portfolio in flex office space, according to a RealShare New York 2018 conference speaker.

Efficiency means saving time, money or energy and these days it almost always involves technology, said Michael T. Cohen, president, tri-state region, at Colliers International. But efficiency in New York City today has taken a 180-degree reversal from trends of the 1980s.

New York City is filled with buildings that once served as headquarters for companies which moved, Cohen noted, referencing PepsiCo and JC Penney as examples from years ago.

“Efficiency in those days was defined by moving to a lower-cost environment for human capital for HR, for manpower, to places where you could find lots of reasonably educated folks who would work cheaply and push papers around. The back office left New York City and in some cases the front offices as well,” he said.

Amazon, a company that started on the West Coast in Seattle, recently elected to move thousands of jobs to New York City. Efficiency is now defined by the competition to retain and attract employees “who are ready to work in a technology industry that didn’t exist 30 years ago,” said Cohen.

Vivianna Schwoerer is the global head of real estate transactions at WeWork, the largest co-working office space provider in the world, valued at $20 billion. Joining Cohen on the RealShare New York 2018 conference panel “Office Market: Seeking More Efficiency,” she said efficiency relates to effectiveness of space. She called WeWork a technology company. The company collects a vast amount of data that can tell a great story. But they are still trying to come up with ways that this data can better serve their members, she said.

Schwoerer described one example. “We use heat sensors around spaces to determine where people spend the majority of their time. Do they spend time in the common area or in the phone booth or at their desk? We found most people don’t spend time at their desks, if they have a preference.”

Panelist Jonathan Kaufman Iger, CEO of Sage Realty Corporation, says his company gets to know their tenants, learning how they use their space. He has observed the following: 15 to 20 years ago, law firms in Class A offices allocated approximately 250 square feet per user. Firms with spaces of 100,000 square feet or more signed leases where 20% of that space was dedicated to future growth.

“Now, in New York City, you’re seeing office space of 120 to 150 square feet per user,” said Iger. Administrative assistants once assigned to one partner now work with multiple attorneys resulting in less desk space required for support staff. Plus, law firms libraries have moved predominantly to the cloud.

“We look at the physical structure and ask where’s the dead space that’s not being utilized,” he stated. “We’ve amenitized space and thought about how people work in a shared space, how it’s actually utilized, and their comfort levels, to use space more efficiently.”

The panel moderator, Gregg Weisser, SVP, director of leasing at the Moinian Group, asked about co-working and flexible space, which frequently tout increased efficiency. He acknowledged that his employer is an investor in Knotel, a WeWork competitor.

Weisser opined times are tougher for landlords competing for small tenants in small spaces. But WeWork continues to grow. Schwoerer is finding now institutional clients are becoming very receptive to conversations that were once happening only with tertiary markets. Many landlords are still trying to figure out whether the third party co-working and flex space operators are competitors or partners.

“Most landlords are saying I better take a certain amount of my portfolio and put it in flex office space, bringing in a professional intermediary like Knotel or WeWork. As a landlord, believe me, I don’t want to buy furniture. I don’t want to man the reception desk. I don’t want to deal with the trivial daily concerns of these licensees. I am happy to outsource that,” said Weisser. “But I do want to be in that business. I want to take a portion of my inventory put it in the flex market and see what happens.”

By: Betsy Kim (GlobeSt)
Click here to view source article.

New Mexico continues its ascent out of the economic doldrums, with job numbers in October showing the biggest percentage gain in a dozen years.
The state’s employment rate registered 2.8 percent in October compared to the year before, according to the state Department of Workforce Solutions. The last time the state has seen any kind of growth over 2.6 percent was in September 2006, when the increase measured 2.9 percent, the agency said.
The October increase translated into 23,100 more jobs compared to a year ago, with the leisure and hospitality industry showing the biggest rise at 7.7 percent.
The mining industry, which includes oil and gas, saw a gain of 2.3 percent.
The state’s unemployment rate remained at 4.6 percent for the third month in a row. That compares to 6 percent a year ago. New Mexico tied Ohio for the sixth-worst rate among states, just ahead of Arizona and Mississippi, which both had 4.7 percent. Alaska remains the highest at 6.4 percent.
The national unemployment rate in October was 3.7 percent.
The county with the highest rate in New Mexico was Luna in the southwest at 8.1 percent. Los Alamos, Union and Eddy counties all had the lowest rate in New Mexico: 3.2 percent.
By: ABQ Journal News Staff (ABQ Journal)
Click here to view source article.

The CARW and ICSC Wisconsin Retail Conference welcomed more than 250 people from across the State.  Attendees participated in 24 roundtable discussions, a project showcase highlighting the latest projects from the region, and retail trivia.  Municipalities also shared their projects through project displays and tables.  Click Here for event photos

Keynote: Milwaukee Bucks President made news at the event highlighting the importance of the 365-day entertainment destination.  He suggested that timing is of the essence to determine a financial solution with willing political and business leaders.

Roundtable Presenters: Local and national CRE leaders shared information about best practices and trending topics in Retail CRE.  The tables were packed and attendees walked away wanting more!  (Scroll down to view the list of roundtable presenters and topics)

Project Showcase: Local and National presenters gave status updates on their projects.  Projects included: Prairie Lakes | The District/Mayfair Collection | Whitestone Station | Shorewood Metro Market | Drexel Town Square | Chapman School Redevelopment | Freshwater Plaza | Brookfield Square Redevelopment | Calhoun Crossings | The Corridor (Brookfield) | The Corners  Click Here for the project showcase presentations

GREAT thanks to the committee who worked tirelessly to pull the event together:

Tom Bruss | Commercial Property Associates
Patrick Cairns | Kohl’s
Dan Cohen | Mid-America Real Estate
Brad Dallet | Whyte Hirschboeck Dudek, S.C.
Andy Dettro | Realty Link
Adam Dreier | Mid-America Real Estate
CJ Goldberg | CBRE
Tom Goldsmith | Culvers
Dan Jeserig | iCap Development
Tracy Johnson | CARW
Joe Kleiman | Mid-America Real Estate
Ross Koepsel | Commercial Property Associates
Mark Lake | Wangard Partners
Russ Sagmoen | Colliers International
Scott Satula | Mid-America Real Estate
Kevin Schmoldt | NAI MLG Commercial
Cory Sovine | Siegel-Gallagher
Harold van Ommeren | Famous Footwear
Brian Vanevenhoven |NAI MLG Commercial
Kurt Wallin | ICSC
Benjamin Weiland | CBRE
Ann Werth | City of Wausau

Our sponsors make this event happen.  We are grateful! 

Negotiating LOIs; Brad Dallet  (Whyte Hirschboeck Dudek S.C.)
Bank Underwriting; Ivan Gamboa (Tri-City National Bank)
Milwaukee Downtown, BID #21; Matt Dorner (Milwaukee Downtown, BID #21)
Tax Credits; Hal Karas (Whyte Hirschboeck Dudek S.C.) & Randy Roth (Endeavour)
Investment Sales; Wes Koontz & Kevin Conway (Mid-America)
Expanding Retailers; Ben Weiland (CBRE)
Expanding Restaurants; Max Jacobson (Mid-America)
Street Car; Jeramy Jannene (Urban Milwaukee)
Raising Capital; Matt Stamborski (Outlook Development)
Environmental Challenges; Josh Neudorfer (Sigma)
NIMBY – The Approval Process; Brian Randall (Friebert, Finerty & St. John)
Regulatory Issues with the DNR; Pete Wood (DNR) (JSD Professional Services)
Hotels; Greg Hanis (Hospitality Marketers)
Grocery; David Livingston (DJL Market Research)
Medical Retail; Maureen Goetz (Children’s Hospital)
Construction Costs; Dave Schwartz (Innovative Construction Solutions)
Site Selection – Retail; Peter Glaser (CBRE) / Harold van Ommeren (Brown Shoes)
Engineering Challenges for Big Box Retailers; Justin Johnson (JSD Professional Services)
SBA – Financing; Paula Cook (Wells Fargo)
Retail Bank Development; David Knight (Associated Bank Corp) / Russ Sagmoen (Colliers International)
Commercial Lending – CMBS & Life Insurance; Justin Nelson (Walker & Dunlop)
Financing New Construction; Adam Newman (Landmark Credit Union)
Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation; Errin Welty (WEDC)
Madison/Dane County Market; Kyle Robb & Brian McClaren (Colliers International)