What advice do you have for an office leasing broker during these times
Hi everyone. I am a commercial real estate broker in Toronto and I have been in the business for just under 2 years. My main focus is office leasing and I am having a tough time finding new business. Understandably, things are slower right now as companies are trying to figure out what their workplace will look like in the future. Has anyone had any recent success? What kind of questions have you been asking tenants? I want to add value to these tenants and not just waste their time with a generic cold call. I would really appreciate some advice.
[{"id": "gl5y536", "text": "Companies are still making moves during these times, even in office. Smart companies are taking advantage of the market conditions (increased concessions, rental abatement, etc.), and restructuring leases with their landlords. By being an expert in your market/territory, you\u2019re able to help companies negotiate with landlords and receive rental abatement up front in exchange for adding term onto their existing lease. Additional concessions we\u2019re seeing are higher tenant improvements packages, which allows companies to rework their space into a socially distant environment, thus allowing them to get employees back to work sooner. \n\nIt\u2019s not a matter of IF employees will return to the office, but WHEN. With vaccines being distributed, it\u2019s only a matter of time until employees return. By beginning the negotiation process now, you\u2019re able to capitalize on the economic impact and negotiate better terms for your client. \n\nAdditionally, if your clients are coming up on the end of their lease, nows the time to take them out to market. Landlords are jumping over one another to secure new deals, so a relocation is a better option than a renewal to those at the end of the their lease. \n\nAt least that\u2019s how things are going in the US.", "replies": [{"id": "gld3rxd", "text": "Terrific!", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "gld3kqa", "text": "Hi.  How's your CRE network?  Some tremendous thought-leaders in your neighborhood.  Dave Cairnes, for example.  Follow him if you don't already.  The big conversation is how will portfolios need to be aligned to support flex, hub &amp; spoke models, and a distributed workforce.  All great questions for tenants, and landlords for that matter.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "glgg57z", "text": "Switch to industrial deals?", "replies": [], "depth": 1}]