No Deal Friday

In a passionate and thought provoking lunch encounter, some of my more intelligent brokers I have the pleasure of doing business with, shared some of the common concerns and trends they are witnessing lately.

The first observation is that tenants are choosing to renewals without consulting a real estate broker. The landlord, scared to death over the sudden reality that vacant space is taking six months or longer to lease, are more willing then ever to "discuss" renewal options with their existing tenant, sans the broker.

Landlords are scared shit-less over the possibility of having vacant space at a time like this. Likewise, tenants who are used to yearly escalations of around 4% for the past several years, are thrilled by the idea of a "rent reduction". Little do they realize that what they consider a "rent reduction" is actually just the going market rate at the moment and a much better deal could be had if they consulted the wisdom of a listing broker.

The second insight occurred when the discussion shifted towards the topic of listings. Listings are easier to come by than in years past, no doubt in part due to the fact of a rapidly rising vacancy rate, and the more listing a broker has the better off he is. As a bench-mark, 100 listings was deemed a satisfactory number. If a broker had 100 freaking listings, there is a good chance that at least some of them would move in this market. The more listing, the wider the net, the more fish/flies/tenants one was likely to catch.

The next insight was concerning the nature of deal volume and time on market. Deal volume is down considerably, whereas the time on market was up considerably, leading to the profound realization that keeping your clients happy was paramount. Beg, let them know you are hungry and willing to work and setting yourself apart from the competition are all ways to keep your client sympathetic to your needs and aware of the dire current market conditions. Client retention is key.

In sum, No Deal Friday, is an important aspect of my job and profession. Just one way I am giving back to the community and discussing the issues of utmost importance to today's Real Estate Professional.