Henry Hanna, CCIM, SIOR, senior advisor at Sperry Van Ness/Miller Commercial Real Estate
1. What is your geographic market and product specialty?
The eastern shore of Maryland and Delaware and I specialize in industrial.
2. What’s your latest best practice tip that you can share?
Get to know the economic development officers on a local and state level in your market and have lunch or a meeting with them once a quarter.
3. What’s been the biggest changeover on how you run your business in the past decade?
Ten years ago I focused on a much smaller area. I considered myself a general commercial broker in one county. Today my market is seven counties and I brand myself as an industrial specialist.
4. What business book do you like to recommend to your colleagues?
Kirsten Helma has joined Sperry Van Ness Crossroads in Schaumburg and Chicago, Ill. as its chief operating officer (COO). Kirsten will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of the full-service property management franchise, including its existing portfolio and financial services department. SVN|Crossroads provides in-house institutional quality services including property & asset management, sales and leasing, tenant improvement, entitlements, construction, day-to-day maintenance, and accounting services.
Founded in 2006, SVN|Crossroads currently manages more than two million SF of property. Kirsten Helma brings more than 15 years of experience in financial services and real estate portfolio management to the company. As a former vice president and manager of real estate dispositions at MB Financial Bank, Kirsten offers expertise in Other Real Estate Owned (OREO) portfolio management, compliance and FDIC reporting.
“I’m thrilled to be joining the already-successful SVN|Crossroads team,” said Kirsten Helma. “I look forward to drawing from my experiences in commercial real estate banking in order to fuel continued growth of the organization in the months and years ahead.”
“Kirsten has managed more than 10 million SF of assets during her career and has been involved in commercial real estate transactions in excess of $2 billion,” said Michael Nortman, principal at SVN|Crossroads. “She understands the needs of the banking industry, but what makes her unique is her ability to think like an owner, which fits in well with our philosophy of returning maximum property value to our clients.”
*All Sperry Van Ness offices are independently owned and operated.
In the Q2 2013 report from Lock Richards, managing director of Sperry Van Ness Highland Commercial in Nevada City, CA, we learn that overall real estate activity in Nevada County has increased, especially in contrast to the previous quarters.
Lock Richards is sharing his commercial real estate expertise with readers of The Union newspaper in a monthly column. The new column made its debut on July 19, and says that now is a good time to buy or lease commercial property in Nevada County. Lock writes:
“The good news is that the difference in the level of activity during the last three quarters (since fourth quarter 2012) is in extreme contrast to the previous four recessionary years. I believe the majority of investors and tenants have now come to realize that the timing is perfect to purchase or lease commercial property. Add to this still historically low financing rates and plentiful debt and equity sources, and today’s market could not be much better for buyers and tenants. That said, with numerous bank-owned and other distressed properties closing in Q4 2012 and Q1 2013, from a pricing standpoint we remain at the bottom of the market, even with the increasing activity levels. Barring an unforeseen macro-economic event, we predict slowly increasing prices over the next two years in most commercial property types.”
*All Sperry Van Ness offices are independently owned and operated.
1. What is your geographic market and product specialty?
I guess you could say that I have two specialties. I work nationally on real estate auctions. I’ve worked with SVN advisors all across the country—from Washington, Oregon and Nevada to the northwest, Maryland, Virginia, and both Carolinas to the east, and many other states in between (so far, real estate auctions in 38 states). As far as traditional brokerage is concerned, while I am based in Atlanta, GA, I am and have been licensed in five other states (VA, NC, SC, TN, and AL) for many years. Most of my traditional activity has been investment sales—several product types.
2. What’s your latest best practice tip that you can share?
Since it is the beginning of a new year, I’ve been the beneficiary of planning advice and strategy from several respected sources, including Verl Workman, Rod Santomassimo, Alan Lipsey, Brian Tracy, and others how is that for a list of guru’s!?!) The best tip is “Plan your work, and WORK your plan”.
3. What’s been the biggest change over on how you run your business in the past decade?
It’s hard to pinpoint just one, but since you said decade, I have to say that the biggest change was my affiliation with Sperry Van Ness almost exactly 10 years ago. Certainly the recession/depression beginning is 2006 caused drastic changes in the type and motivation of auction sellers. Until the last few years, it had been over a decade since we did “short-sale” real estate auctions (also called voluntary foreclosure auctions), but we have been involved in many recently. In our brokerage operation, we grew to over 15 associates in the boom times, but really scaled back over the past six years, and are just now gearing back up to grow the officeagain.
4. What business book do you like to recommend to your colleagues?
I am re-readingRobert Potter’s “Selling Real Estate Services—Third Level Secrets of Top Producers.” The author addressed us at a National Conference a few years ago. It is a great sales guide, stressing the need for building strong personal relationships with prospects to turn them into clients. He writes about accumulating and using the kind of information that is needed in a good CRM system (such as ClientLook, which I am now trying to use). When I am in the car, I like to listen to the audio collection that I purchased from Terri Sjodin, another of our former National Conference speakers, titled “Wired to Win”. 10 DVD’s of some of the very best business and motivational writers and speakers. Outstanding collection of wisdom, and highly recommended!
5. What’s a fun fact that not everyone knows about you?
When I was in the U.S. Air Force as a Missile Launch Officer, secure in my deep underground bunker in North Dakota, I had a pistol on my hip and the key and codes to launch up to 50 ICBM’s, each with 3 to 5 separately targeted warheads.
What skills, knowledge and tools does a commercial real estate adviser need to succeed? That is what Commercial Investment Real Estate (the magazine of the CCIM institute) wanted to learn from Bo Barron, CCIM, vice president for organization development at Sperry Van Ness International Corporation (SVNIC).
Tenacity, systemization and accountability
Bo Barron, Vice President of Organization Development at Sperry Van Ness International Corporation
Bo, who served in the U.S. Marine Corps before pursuing his real estate career, discusses how tenacity and the other skills he learned in the service, such as systematization and accountability, have helped him to succeed. He says: “I am convinced that tenacity is the most important trait required to succeed in commercial real estate.”
Prospect on a daily basis
Bo, who works with SVNIC’s advisers to raise their productivity and profitability, also shares what sets top producers apart: “My experience has also taught me that top producers must systematically prospect on a daily basis,” because “those who consistently prospected throughout the downturn [in 2008] have continued to succeed.”
Embrace new technologies
“Social media platforms such as Twitter and LinkedIn as well as blogs have made it possible for CCIMs to become known as market experts and thought leaders faster than ever,” said Bo, who blogs at www.bobarron.com, and who joined SVNIC because of its emphasis on technological innovation, among other things.
Read the entire interview in the July/August 2013 issue of Commercial Investment Real Estate magazine.
*All Sperry Van Ness offices are independently owned and operated.
Sperry Van Ness/Renaissance Commercial, which serves the fast-growing Orange County and the “Inland Empire,” is SVN’s newest franchise office. The group, which is headquartered in Irvine, CA, has plans for additional locations in Palm Springs, Riverside, Ontario, and Temecula/Murrietta.
Darrell Hoover, Managing Director
Michael Gustafson, Managing Director
SVN/Renaissance Commercial is led by Darrell Hoover and Michael Gustafson. After six years in the National Football League, Darrell Hoover began his ascent in real estate in 1975, with the creation of Hoover Advertising, an advertising, marketing, and PR firm that included some of the largest residential home builders in the country. He later became a direct leader in the homebuilding industry, as president of Beazer Homes’ Southern California division from 1991 to 1996. During that time, Beazer Homes went public (NYSE: BZH) and became the sixth largest homebuilder in the United States. Following the economic downturn in 2008, Hoover founded CrissCross Solutions, bringing together real estate veterans to help banks and other investors with property repositioning, work-out situations, and asset protection.
With an already well-established presence in Southern California, Hoover and his team of top brokers at SVN/Renaissance Commercial are now poised to seize a major piece of the region’s exploding growth in commercial real estate, including the retail, industrial, high-end apartment, office, and recreational markets. Hoover’s fellow Managing Director, Michael Gustafson, will serve as a leader on many of the property types. The 28-year industry veteran will also help direct all franchise operations, asset services, and property management. An accomplished broker, developer, and contractor, Gustafson previously directed numerous companies including VP Commercial, Vision Offices, and Victoria Properties where his talent resonated through his properties winning numerous national and local awards. Michael was voted developer of the year three consecutive times by AZ Business Magazine.
“I’m continually blown away by the smart tools, the knowledge base and the entrepreneurial and collaborative spirit of SVNIC,” said Darrell Hoover. “I like to say that SVNIC is high tech – but also high touch. The passion and commitment for doing what’s best for the client exists at all levels.”
“SVN/Renaissance Commercial brings a unique combination of experience and fresh perspective to the next generation of Sperry Van Ness® leadership in Southern California,” said SVNIC President and CEO Kevin Maggiacomo. “We’re thrilled to have the enthusiasm of Darrell Hoover and his team, as they look to build a Sperry Van Ness brokerage presence that’s stronger than it’s ever been in this part of the country.”
For information on becoming a Sperry Van Ness franchisee, click here.
*All Sperry Van Ness offices are independently owned and operated.
Midwest Real Estate News, a leading journal for commercial real estate news, has named Sperry Van Ness International (SVNIC) in its 2013 Best of the Best issue, where it is listed as the number eight in the list of the Top Brokers nationwide. The magazine lists a total of 51 top brokers. With total leasing and investment sales of $1,678,260,000, SVNIC is included with other large national brokers such as CBRE, Cushman and Wakefield, Jones Lang LaSalle and Colliers.
SVNIC has offices throughout the Midwest, including in Chicago, Fort Wayne, Indianapolis, St. Louis, Missouri and Madison, Wisconsin.
Midwest Real Estate News also lists the top owners, top property managers and top lenders among the best companies in the issue. To read the entire 2013 Best of the Best issue, click here.
*All Sperry Van Ness offices are independently owned and operated.
One of the hallmarks of the Sperry Van Ness® (SVN) brand is our Monday Morning Sales Call. While almost all commercial real estate teams have a weekly sales meeting of some sort, the SVN call is not only national in scope, but it’s open to the entire brokerage community. Why do we do this? Because we believe in basic economic fundamentals:
The greater the exposure, the bigger demand; the bigger the demand, the higher the sale price of an asset. It’s economics 101.
At SVN we believe that achieving the highest and best price is always in our clients’ best interests. We practice compensated cooperation where we pay equitable co-brokerage fees on all properties to not only our own Advisors, but to any and all outside brokers. This is where the Monday Morning Sales Call comes in.
SVN Parke Group watches the Sperry Van Ness national call as an office in their conference room.
With co-brokerage fees motivating the marketplace, compensated cooperation guarantees that more buyers view our clients’ properties, pumping up demand, and ultimately the purchase price.
When an SVN advisor receives a new listing, it’s immediately entered into our innovative cloud-based system, creating instantaneous marketing materials and websites as well as syndication links to multiple listing services.
Qualified properties are then featured on our weekly Monday National Sales call, which is attended by our SVN advisors and other guests who are potential partners for a deal. Following the call, SVN publicizes those properties across the Internet to thousands of more potential purchasers. The result? Here’s what our advisors have to say:
“I’ve done 4 or 5 deals … with other SVN Advisors and most of them came from the Monday morning call.”
“Sold two [NNN Investment] properties in 2012 [due to Monday morning call].”
“I’ve closed many transactions as Buyer’s broker or Seller’s broker due to the Monday Morning Call.”
“Just this week, I sent a property to my buyer, and that buyer is looking hard at it.”
By exposing listings to not only SVN advisors across the country, but also members of the outside brokerage community our advisors have more opportunities to find the right partner to close more deals. You may think that Advisors are giving up some by splitting the commission 50/50, but they gain a lot more when they close more deals, more quickly and at a higher price.
This dedication to transparency and collaboration is something we work into every facet of SVN services from investment sales to tenant representation, from property and asset management to corporate, leasing and auction services.
To register for our Monday Morning Sales Call click here.
To find out more about franchise opportunities click here.
Don Erler, CAI, AARE, of Sperry Van Ness/Ward Commercial Group
1. What is your geographic market and product specialty?
My partner Bill Menish and I work primarily in Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Missouri and Tennessee, but have often conducted auctions throughout the country. Erler Menish Auctions as part of SVN Ward Commercial Group conducts real estate auctions only, with primary emphasis in recent years on bank owned and troubled properties. In the more than 25 years that I have been in practice, I have been able to establish great relationships with banks and bankers, which in today’s market have accelerated (no pun intended) my practice to new levels of production.
2. What’s your latest best practice tip that you can share?
If you love what you do, you will never work a day in your life. If you love people, you will love what we are doing: STP, see the property; see the people. Get out of the office and enjoy where you live, who you can work with and how you can solve their real estate problems and goals. When I got into the real estate auction business in 1987, my mentor told me to spend time with creative people and I would never be bored.
What’s been the biggest changeover on how you run your business in the past decade?
Wow. Years ago I hoped I could retire before I had to learn how to use a PC. Little did I know how modern technology was going to change my life and my business. The ability to reach out and communicate with anyone, anywhere, anytime makes this an incredible world. It’s still a bit scary to think what it will look like in 10 or 20 more years. It’s hard to imagine where this is all going, but the ride is incredible!
4. What business book do you like to recommend to your colleagues?
My daily focus is my health and fitness, both physical and mental. You are only as old as you think and feel, but if your health fails, you have nothing left. It’s not a business book, but Younger Next Year: Live Strong, Fit, and Sexy – Until You’re 80 and Beyond by Chris Crowley & Henry S. Lodge, M.D., is a great read and offers great advice. Also, if you need to continue to be motivated, the Canfield books and classes are fabulous.
5. What’s a fun fact that not everyone knows about you?
I have two children (33 and 20), both out of the house, so our “children” are and have always been our four-legged friends. Right now we have two large dogs and seven cats of all flavors. I can’t image what life on our farm would be like without animals in our life. When I met my wife in the late 1970s I had 27 animals: six dogs, four cats, six chickens, and 11 horses. She only objected to the large number of horses. But when you live on a farm in Kentucky, horses are almost a necessity to fill in the area behind the black board fences.
*All Sperry Van Ness® offices are independently owned and operated.
Steve Kawulok, managing director, SVN The Group Commercial, Fort Collins, CO
Recession recovery is continuing at a higher pace in the Northern Colorado commercial real estate market, says Steve Kawulok, managing director of Sperry Van Ness The Group Commercial in Fort Collins, Colorado.
The Northern Colorado market, which encompasses the three counties of Boulder, Larimer and Weld, had an improving outlook for the second quarter of 2013. Among the signs of recovery and strength were:
Market sales of property went up ;
Retail properties did the best;
Office properties gained momentum with the vacancy rates going down and rental rates on the uptick;
Investors are still active in this market.
For a complete picture of the Q2 activity in Northern Colorado, including significant commercial real estate transactions, read Steve’s Q2 report here.
*All Sperry Van Ness offices are independently owned and operated.
Diane Danielson, Chief Platform Officer, Sperry Van Ness International Corporation
Diane Danielson, Chief Platform Officer, Sperry Van Ness International Corporation (SVNIC) has been named to the inaugural Forbes Forty Women over Forty to Watch list. This list recognizes the achievement of women around the world, working in various industries, who are upending the perception that 40 is past your prime.
In the commercial real estate industry, where women are few, Diane Danielson has taken on the second-in-command post at SVNIC. As CPO, Danielson oversees operations and is the company’s national brand evangelist. She leads the planning and execution of strategic initiatives to expand the franchise network, optimize services and develop innovative technology and communication platforms for our franchisee. Danielson believes that franchising is a way for women, minorities and younger generations to own their own business and change the face of the commercial real estate industry.
To view the press release in its entirety, click here.
To view the complete list of recipients, click here.
*All Sperry Van Ness offices are independently owned and operated.
1. What is your geographic market and product specialty?
My market is northeast Indiana / Fort Wayne and my specialty is sales and leasing for retail and industrial.
2. What’s your latest best practice tip that you can share?
Listings bring opportunity and driving your market is the best way to prospect. If the parking lot is bare then the business may be struggling and may need to sale and/or downsize. If the parking lot is at capacity, then they may need to sale and/or secure more space.
3. What’s been the biggest change over on how you run your business in the past decade?
I plan each day the night before and stay focused and organized.
4.What business book do you like to recommend to your colleagues?
Steven Martin, CCIM, CPM, managing director and owner of Sperry Van Ness / Martin Commercial Group was awarded the REALTOR® of the Year, the top industry award given by the Indiana Commercial Board of REALTORS® (ICBR). The award was presented at the ICBR’s annual conference on June 14, 2013 in Indianapolis. Nearly 350 commercial real estate professionals attended the conference, providing ongoing state education for brokers.
Steven Martin, CCIM, CPM
Steven received this award as recognition of his professional success, commitment to furthering the commercial real estate profession and dedication to community service. “Steven is a natural fit for the 2013 REALTOR® of the Year Award, based on his impressive resume alone,” said Janice Paine, 2013 ICBR president. “His dedication and vision has helped transform the commercial real estate industry in Indiana, and his influence has certainly been felt on our board, and the boards of many other professional and community organizations. I am comforted knowing that the future of our industry will be in his hands as the 2014 ICBR President.”
The REALTOR® of the Year award has been presented annually by ICBR since 1994. In addition to membership in ICBR, award criteria include:
REALTOR® Spirit – high principles of integrity and adherence to the REALTOR® Code of Ethics
Civic Activity – local, state, and national level participation
Business Accomplishments – public recognition of business conduct and service to clients
Local Association/Board Activity – service as a volunteer in committee work or other areas at the local level
State Association Activity – offices held and committee work at state level
National Association Activity – volunteer participation at the national level
As 36-year veteran of the commercial real estate market, Steven has come to be recognized as one of the top brokers in the state for his extensive experience in the sale of multifamily, retail and commercial properties in Indiana and Kentucky with transactions valued at more than $500 million.
*All Sperry Van Ness offices are independently owned and operated.
Mike Norris, Managing Director, Sperry Van Ness/Norris Commercial Group, LLC
1. What is your geographic market and product specialty?
I am in the San Antonio market covering New Braunfels, Seguin, San Marcos and San Antonio; specializing in land developments.
2. What’s your latest best practice tip that you can share?
We have team meetings twice a week. All the staff comes together to discuss what we are working on- this help creates a collaborative atmosphere where everyone is working together.
3. What’s been the biggest change over on how you run your business in the past decade?
Integrating technology into my daily business routine.
4. What business book do you like to recommend to your colleagues?
1. What is your geographic market and product specialty?
North Alabama is my geographic area and I live in Huntsville. I specialize in sales and leasing of office and retail properties with a special emphasis in STNL deals.
2. What’s your latest best practice tip that you can share?
Be available. Answer the phone when possible and if you can’t, call them back immediately. People tell me all the time, I can’t believe I actually got in touch with someone. Prompt and professional customer service is so important.
3. What’s been the biggest change over on how you run your business in the past decade?
Social Media – you have to keep up with the latest technology and use it to your advantage to reach the largest number of people. However, some still want the old fashioned personal touch. You have to know your customer.
4. What business book do you like to recommend to your colleagues?
Sperry Van Ness International Corporation (SVNIC) is proud to announce the addition of its newest franchise office, Sperry Van Ness/The Founders Group in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Jay Smith, Managing Director
Van Watts, Managing Director
One of the most popular destinations along the eastern seaboard for tourists and investors alike, Myrtle Beach features a wide array of commercial real estate property types including beachfront resorts, apartments, shops, restaurants, and more. With a deep knowledge of this diverse market, Managing Directors Van Watts and Jay Smith will employ SVNIC’s innovative marketing tools to skillfully serve clients from South Carolina and beyond.
Watts brings more than 28 years of real estate experience to SVN/The Founders Group, having previously covered major sales and development projects as founder and president of South Carolina’s Pace Realty. A 25-year veteran of the industry, Smith most recently served as a principal with nFusion, a real estate consultancy providing REO evaluation and disposition, loan sales, asset repositioning, and other services. In joining forces, Watts and Smith present a unique understanding of the needs of both investors and lenders.
Discussing the decision, Van Watts said:
When we decided to form a brokerage, Jay and I were initially drawn to the culture of collaboration at SVNIC. What solidified our decision to join the company was the repeated enthusiasm we heard from franchisees in markets across the United States. Here in our corner of the country, we’re confident the marketing platform will help us reach a wider audience with our listings, as we continue to see more buyers and sellers from across the state lines.
To learn more about becoming an SVNIC business owner, click here.
*All Sperry Van Ness offices are independently owned and operated.
Tony Veldkamp, Managing Director of Sperry Van Ness/ Commercial Advisory Group in Sarasota, FL
1. What is your geographic market and product specialty?
I’ve worked my entire 22-year real estate career here on the Sun Coast of Florida, just south of Tampa. Our market includes three counties and many cities and towns including Bradenton, Sarasota, Venice, Englewood, North Port, Port Charlotte and Punta Gorda. My specialty has always been land. I started in the business selling large acreage tracts, farms and orange groves and moved into development sites as our area grew. I say if you can sell land, you can sell anything. To sell land you have to know what apartments rent for, office buildings sell for, and what industrial space leases for. You have to understand all parts of the commercial real estate market to sell land.
2. What’s your latest best practice tip that you can share?
You need to listen more and talk less. You have to understand your client’s needs before you can help them, and to do that you have to listen. I have several stories through the years of agents I negotiated against who would not stop talking long enough for me to tell them that my client would agree with what their client wanted. So consequently, their client lost out.
3. What’s been the biggest change over on how you run your business in the past decade?
Email and smartphones, without a doubt, as they have led to staying in quick, continual contact with my clients. Years ago I would send out letters once a month with an update on their listings and the activity that we’ve had. Now I email or text them every time I have a showing. I want them to be tired of hearing from me so they understand how often I’m working on their property. So when it is time to renew a listing, there is no question in their mind that I’m working hard for them.
4. What business book do you like to recommend to your colleagues?
I’ve had all of my advisors read Brokers Who Dominate by Rod Santomassimo. I highly recommend it to anyone in real estate, even residential agents.
5. What’s a fun fact that not everyone knows about you?
I’m a first generation American and native Floridian. My parents emigrated here from Holland in 1958. They were in Holland as teenagers during the occupation by Nazi Germany, and later moved from there to Tallahassee, Florida where I was born.
*All Sperry Van Ness® offices are independently owned and operated.
Gary Gustafson, Managing Director, Sperry Van Ness/MG Property Advisors, Inc.
Sperry Van Ness/MG Property Advisors, Inc. in San Rafael, California is the newest franchisee of the Sperry Van Ness International Corporation. Led by Managing Director Gary Gustafson and Senior Advisor Martin Perlmutter, SVN/MG Property Advisors will focus on a strong national net leased property sales program, as well as local office and industrial sales in California’s North Bay, just north of San Francisco.
Gustafson and Perlmutter have assembled a team of top advisors with a shared background in closing large deals, including the recent sale of $15 million in net leased properties. The staff at SVN/MG Property Advisors is now looking to SVNIC’s innovative technology platform and transparency in listings to become a recognized leader in the area’s highly-competitive brokerage industry.
“For many years, I’ve admired the Sperry Van Ness® philosophy that a transparent commercial real estate market is better for both brokers and clients,” said Gustafson. “That mission, combined with marketing tools that make the sales job more efficient and productive, made joining SVNIC the easiest and best choice.”
To learn more about becoming an SVNIC business owner, click here.
*All Sperry Van Ness Offices are independently owned and operated.
Behind the Scenes…The Sperry Van Ness Difference Video
a guest blog post by Michael Bloch
When I was asked to help create a video for the Sperry Van Ness® that would complement their message of “difference,” it was clear that we needed to think outside the box. Kevin Maggiacomo, CEO & President of Sperry Van Ness International Corp. is a dynamic speaker with an innovative vision for the commercial real estate industry. Our challenge was to come up with a way to retain the words and voice tone that are uniquely Kevin’s while creating alternative visuals to body language elements that might not translate to video. A whiteboard video seemed like the perfect solution.
A whiteboard video is an artistic and creative approach to storytelling and which incorporates some pretty cool digital effects including graphic animation and stop-motion technology. Similar to the whiteboards available in meeting rooms and classrooms to visually support ideas being shared, whiteboard videos can be used to explain complex processes in a simplified manner or to give a more detailed understanding of the goods or services a company offers. Done right, whiteboard videos can be fun, engaging and informative. By combining Kevin’s voiceover with a whiteboard’s artistic flexibility, we could create something unique.
A whiteboard video may look simple when you watch it, but its creation is anything but. Like a Hollywood movie, we started with a compelling script. From there we had to create a storyboard that represented exactly what would be seen on screen for each line of Kevin’s recorded voiceover. With those elements in place, an artist needed to draw the images for the video in a special studio set up to film their every hand movement. In the editing suite, there were hours of video that needed to be digitally sped up to create a stop-motion video that was just a few minutes in length. Lastly, sound effects and finishing touches were added before rendering the final video. From beginning to end, the entire process took a couple of months.
The effort was well worth it. Now, Sperry Van Ness advisors have strong, visual marketing tool that helps explain the Sperry Van Ness difference.
Michael Bloch is the founder and CEO of Vision2Video a Boston-based company helps its clients create compelling messaging with measurable results by leveraging the power of storytelling through video, live presentations and other communication channels.
*All Sperry Van Ness® offices are independently owned and operated.
Chris Davis, Sperry Van Ness/Investec Services and Sperry Van Ness/Miller Commercial Real Estate
1. What is your geographic market and product specialty?
My market area is the mid-Atlantic in Maryland and Delaware. I am also licensed in Florida and do business in the Jacksonville market. I specialize in self-storage and hospitality.
2. What’s your latest best practice tip that you can share?
Make sure you have a strong presence in your market and strive to keep it. Utilize all your contacts, and you will be surprised how fast your database will grow.
3. What’s been the biggest changeover on how you run your business in the past decade?
Technology has really changed this business – so embrace it. I am trying to keep up with it and learn how to use it effectively. It will make you more efficient and productive.
4. What business book do you like to recommend to your colleagues?
5. What’s a fun fact that not everyone knows about you?
Even though my body lets me know I have gotten much older, I still try to play soccer with the kids I coach. In the early 80’s I received a full soccer scholarship to play for the nationally-ranked division one Philadelphia Textile (now Philadelphia University and division two). Our program dominated during that time and a lot of great players played there. I still stay in touch with them even though we all have moved on.
*All Sperry Van Ness® offices are independently owned and operated.
Bob Lovelace, MAI, CCIM, Senior Advisor, SVN Florida
1. What is your geographic market and product specialty?
I have specialized in East Central Florida commercial real estate for 30 years with a particular focus on the Interstate 4 corridor between Orlando and Daytona Beach. I have worked with a broad variety of property classes and client types. Over the past five years, I have worked primarily with distressed assets and lender REO including large land tracts, office, and retail properties.
2. What’s your latest best practice tip that you can share?
Jerry Anderson, CCIM, recently noted that SVN Advisors’ access to Real Capital Analytics data is one of our organization’s most powerful tools to identify opportunities. I was guilty of overlooking it.
3. What’s been the biggest change over on how you run your business in the past decade?
Ten years ago I set a goal to transition my full-time appraisal practice to one of a full- time brokerage. I completed the CCIM program, affiliated with some good brokerages along the way, and feel as though the transformation has culminated in my association with Sperry Van Ness Florida.
4. What business book do you like to recommend to your colleagues?
Because of a recommendation by Bo Barron, CCIM, I just finished Michael Hyatt’s “Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World”. As promised, the book delivers great guidance on how to better structure and leverage one’s marketing in the social media universe.
5. What’s a fun fact that not everyone knows about you?
I was drawn to New Smyrna Beach and Ponce Inlet many years ago because of surfing, and I haven’t left yet. Through surfing, I met and married a local girl in a ceremony at the top of the Ponce Inlet Lighthouse. This little beach town has been good to me.
*All Sperry Van Ness® offices are independently owned and operated.
Damien Lanclos, Managing Director of Sperry Van Ness/KD Lanclos & Associates, LLC
Sperry Van Ness International Corporation is proud to announce the addition of Sperry Van Ness/KD Lanclos & Associates, LLC in Augusta, Ga. Led by Managing Director Damien Lanclos, the organization specializes in the sale and leasing of a diverse range of product types including office, retail, land, and multifamily properties in both Georgia and South Carolina.
After many years in the pharmaceutical industry, Lanclos first entered the commercial real estate industry with the Sperry Van Ness organization in 2007, as an advisor based in Sarasota, Fla. In his first year with SVN, he closed several large deals, including a more than 18,000 square foot retail transaction at $2.85 million. He opened his current Sperry Van Ness office in his native Augusta, Ga. in 2013. Lanclos credits the innovative marketing tools and Monday Morning National Sales Call program with helping him to quickly advance his business.
Says Lanclos, “I was recently able to bring in multiple offers on a $5.9 million multifamily listing, thanks in part to the SVN tools that have allowed me to broadcast all of my properties to a national audience.”
Lanclos’ office assists clients in the second largest market services area in the state of Georgia. In line with the findings of SVNIC’s Top Markets to Watch Report for 2013, Lanclos says he’s seen a strong demand for multifamily investments, due to a rise in occupancy and rent gains.
Lanclos was recently accepted into the 2013 class of Leadership Columbia County, a program of the Columbia County Chamber of Commerce. The 10-month membership exposes business and community leaders to the opportunities and challenges facing the area, including economic development.
Lanclos received his Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Georgia and holds real estate licenses in Georgia, South Carolina, and Florida.
One of the core values of the Sperry Van Ness® brand is that our clients get the most value when we create the most demand. It’s basic market fundamentals and collaboration at its best. This is why we open up our weekly National #CRE Sales Call to the entire brokerage and investment community and we encourage our Advisors and guests to share this information by email and social media.
Apparently, our Advisors did such a great job this week, that we received the following note from SlideShare (where we post new listings each week)!
While our “Hot on LinkedIn” fame was short-lived, we’re hoping to make it up on the SlideShare leaderboard again!
Want to learn more about the Sperry Van Ness Difference when it comes to commercial real estate? Sign up for a call and join us on any Monday.
*All Sperry Van Ness® offices are independently owned and operated.
Justin Horwitz, Senior Advisor with Sperry Van Ness, LLC
1. What is your geographic market and product specialty?
I exclusively focus on office and industrial properties in the metro Phoenix market.
2. What’s your latest best practice tip that you can share?
I have been utilizing post cards much more than in the past to reach out to owners and market myself and my team. Additionally, I have made it a point to actually drive to more properties to familiarize myself even more with my market in addition to cold calls from the desk.
3. What’s been the biggest changeover on how you run your business in the past decade?
Being in the business for just over eight years now, my biggest adjustment has been transitioning my role as a junior agent into a leader that is more vocal about how the team operates.
4. What business book do you like to recommend to your colleagues?
Steve Kawulok, Managing Director, SVN/The Group Commercial
In a detailed Northern Colorado commercial real estate market report and analysis, Steve Kawulok, Managing Director of Sperry Van Ness/The Group Commercial says the first quarter sales volume of 2013 was less than 4Q 2012, but with high activity levels, foretelling a strong year ahead.
Other key findings about the Northern Colorado market in this report are:
Retail properties were sought after although investors paid slightly less for investment properties in general.
Vacancy rates continued to decline, particularly in the industrial category.
Rents are projected to increase in 2013.
Land meant for residential development has started to sell if located in an infill area, and oriented to smaller lot, affordable homes.
Medical office and clinical properties are in high demand from investors.
Industrial properties, especially those with yard space, are in high demand from the energy industry.
Neil Johnson, managing director/broker at Sperry Van Ness / Landmark Advisors
1. What is your geographic market and product specialty?
The focus of my brokerage work for 15 years has been in Kane County, Ill. and the surrounding suburban areas about one hour west of downtown Chicago. As an office, our advisors handle retail, office, and industrial properties – plus vacant land. We do quite a bit of leasing, which has created relationships for some of our best investment sale opportunities.
2. What’s your latest best practice tip that you can share?
Collaboration on listings with the other advisors in my office has proven to be particularly productive. There are many benefits to the team approach, including better service to our clients. We get the benefit of multiple eyes looking at each stage of the listing or transaction. It is also more fun to work as a team.
3. What’s been the biggest changeover on how you run your business in the past decade?
We are trying to be more selective on the quality and size of opportunities that we take on. Otherwise, it is too easy to race around chasing every small deal that turns up. We are working hard to increase our focus on investment sales, and larger lease deals, especially now that the market is picking up again.
4. What business book do you like to recommend to your colleagues?
I try to spend some time reading the Bible every day. Scripture can be helpful in addressing the challenges of human relationships.
5. What’s a fun fact that not everyone knows about you?
In my early 20s, I hitchhiked more than 20,000 miles, across the U.S. and Europe. To the casual observer, I’m sure I appeared to be a typecast hippie.
*All Sperry Van Ness® offices are independently owned and operated.
The International Council of Shopping Center (ICSC) RECon event takes place every year in Las Vegas, Nevada. This annual event brings together more than 30,000 developers, brokers, tenants and owners from all over the world to the Las Vegas Convention Center. If you (or anybody you know) do anything involving retail shopping centers, it’s a must-attend event.
Attending the conference can be expensive, but well worth the cost as an investment in your business. With some advanced planning, you can minimize the cost, and still have a positive impact on your business. In fact, just going to ICSC RECon says that you take the business seriously.
As an experienced attendee, let me give you some pointers.
To reduce attendance costs, consider bunking up with a friend or co-worker to save on hotel cost. Book your airline flight early to get the best rate. Make certain to attend the lunch and breakfast sessions where you’ll get a free meal (included in the registration fee) while getting to hear insightful and educational speakers talk about some of the challenging issues facing retail environments.
Wear comfortable shoes. You can always tell the first timers– it’s the women in high-heels and the men in leather soled penny loafers.
Bring lots of business cards, more than you think you might need.
Get on the phone now and start booking appointments with the folks you want face time with. That’s what the convention is all about. Go to the 2013 RECon website and access the list of registrants, which includes their contact information. Don’t assume that if they’re not registered, that they will not be attending. Call them!
The convention is spread out over several different halls– North Hall, Central Hall and two levels in the South Hall. Walking through thousands of people and going from one hall to the other can take 30 minutes. Try and book together all your appointments in one hall.
Do not bring lots of flyers, brochures, or marketing packages. Bring one copy, maybe two, to show folks that you’re meeting with, but don’t leave a copy with them, since it will never make it back to their office and it gives you a reason to follow-up afterward. Also, this will eliminate the need to lug around a briefcase. It may be even better to bring along a tablet, since you can use it to show important information to your contacts.
Stay focused, stay hydrated and stay sober. Being in Las Vegas brings about all kinds of distractions. If you’re making the costly investment to attend, be smart and use your time wisely.
Need more information? More pointers? Download floor plans? See who’s attending the event? Visit the show website by clicking here. See you in Las Vegas!
Prepared by:
Shari Tucker-Gasser, Council Chair of Retail Properties
1. What has been your strategy for growing your firm and also your market share?
Like any brokerage company, recruiting is the key to both organizational and market share growth and I spend most of my time doing that. There are three types of agents I target:
New-to-the-business. The new-to-the-business advisors are easiest to hire, but require sufficient training and mentoring and, in general, are “lower-probability” producers. I source leads for these types of agents through newspaper ads, local campus recruiting, and intern programs. While they’re typically more challenging to manage, they tend to more easily adapt and adhere to our work standards and the SVN culture.
Seasoned (or senior level). Mid-level and senior lever producers have been far more challenging to recruit, but often begin producing within a their first few months with the company. I try to target agents that will complement our existing advisors. Thus far, I have agents that specialize in 5 of the major asset categories so we’re aggressively searching for a hospitality specialist who can round out the team. I also try to choose agents that are a fit to both our franchise’s and Sperry Van Ness’ culture.
Satellite. Hiring satellite agents has enabled us to penetrate into territories where there is insufficient transaction volume to support a brick and mortar office. I often find little to no competition from national brokerage companies in these areas. And given that these locations are in outlying secondary and tertiary areas to our primary market, we are able to access higher yielding investment opportunities without having to go out of state.
2. What are some of the unique activities you do to motivate your team?
I provide the training, resources and support while setting challenging performance expectations then try to take a hands-off approach and let agents find their own system that works for them in accomplishing their goals. So I’m there when they need me but not there when they don’t need me. I conduct quarterly and annual business plan meetings and try and connect on daily basis with the agents in the office and on a bi-weekly basis with my satellite advisors.
3. What’s been the biggest challenge on how you run your business over the last few years?
Fortunately, we’re past most of the branding issues we struggled with initially and are now gaining traction in our market once again. Recently, our challenges have been mostly market related: seller’s hesitant to sell for lack of viable uplegs, cap rates approaching sub-5 levels, and political and economic uncertainties on the horizon
4. How many Advisors/Staff did you have when you joined SVN? How many (in total) do you have now?
When I started the office in May 2010 we had 4. Today we have 37 and growing!
Sperry Van Ness | Rich Investment Real Estate Partners
David Rich, Managing Director of Sperry Van Ness | Rich Investment Real Estate Partners
Walter Helm, 2012 Humanitarian of the Year with SVNIC President & CEO, Kevin Maggiacomo
Walter Helm was an easy choice for the Sperry Van Ness® 2012Humanitarian of the Year award. This award is given to the advisor who makes an extraordinary effort to give back to his or her community. Walter, managing director of Sperry Van Ness/Walter Helm in Sacramento, California, has truly shown extraordinary leadership in SVN’s Leads for Good initiative and in a wide range of other humanitarian work. Walter has made an incredible impact through his commitment to training dogs for the Canine Companions for Independence program. A dedicated Rotarian, Walter has been involved in many local and regional fundraisers.
Walter Helm has a lifelong commitment to philanthropic activities. He has been actively engaged in volunteer fundraising for various organizations in the Sacramento area; he has served as a volunteer emergency medical pilot; a volunteer fireman; and even spent six weeks on a motorcycle ride fundraiser around Australia for Rotary’s Polio Plus program.
Perhaps Walter’s most interesting philanthropic effort was being a board member and a volunteer pilot for Airlifeline. Walter completed numerous charity flights using his own airplane and paying all expenses. On short notice, Walter was able to deliver small pox serum from San Jose to Yuba City, starting the flight from Cameron Park at 2:00 a.m. to complete the flight in four hours. He also flew a liver transplant team back and forth from Sacramento and Concord to Santa Rosa.
As a long-time active member of his Rotary Club, Walter ran a tutoring program, which had more than 80 volunteers helping 7th and 8th graders one-on-one to learn to read. In 2011, Walter was awarded the Rotarian of the Year Award by the Point West Rotary club in Sacramento.
Walter Helm and a service dog from Canine Companions for Independence (CCI).
Walter truly enjoys training service dogs for Canine Companions for Independence (CCI), something he has been doing for the past ten years. The dogs transform lives of kids and adults by providing physical assistance and emotional support. Walter works with each dog for 18 months. Nalani, a Yellow Lab/Golden Retriever, was the dog he trained most recently. She now “works” at Children’s Hospital in San Francisco helping kids cope with pain and provide motivation to get out of bed after surgery
Currently, Walter is working with the SVN Leads for Good™ program to help Community Benefit Organizations (CBO). The program is very simple: once a lead comes from the CBO for the sale or lease of real estate, 10% of the commission is given back to the organization upon close of escrow.
Diane Danielson, Chief Platform Officer, Sperry Van Ness International Corp.
Earlier this month we released our Top Trends and Markets to Watch in 2013 Report. Our goal with this publication is to look at trends beyond the largest commercial real estate markets like NYC, Boston, SF, LA and Washington DC. Many of those markets have been in recovery mode, and as a result, future opportunities will likely reside in some often-overlooked markets.
Of course, not every secondary and tertiary market is seeing the light at the end of the tunnel just yet, but if you read through our 2013 Markets to Watch Report, you’ll be able to identify certain factors that could lead to CRE opportunities with upside. Below is a quick overview of a few of the trends we are seeing.
Large-scale infrastructure projects
In 2015, the widening of the Panama Canal will be complete, allowing larger ships to pass through its locks. This has set off a race to dredge ports along the Eastern seaboard. Industrial properties in areas around ports able to receive these larger ships like Miami, New York/New Jersey, Jacksonville and Charleston and Savannah stand to benefit.
Energy-related growth
Newly discovered gas reserves and recent advancements in drilling and extraction technology have paved the way for significant economic growth and investment opportunity in places like Louisiana, Ohio, western Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
Demographic shifts
With an aging Boomer population moving into retirement, and generation Y (the Boomer’s kids) facing an extended period of adolescence and underemployment, we are going to see a shift in attitudes about housing. Even if they could take over their parent’s McMansions, they might not want to be in that market. Gen Y (or Millennials as they are also known) are more environmentally conscious and value-oriented.
This is a generation that is attracted to mixed-used developments along transportation lines (not all of them can afford cars when they have the weight of student loans) and nearby retail and entertainment. In big cities like Boston, they are attracted to 300-sf mini-units, with zipcar parking and shared communal space. However, not all can afford big city prices. This presents a good opportunity for those secondary markets with emerging high-tech communities.
With lower costs of living, and lower barriers of entry for new high-tech companies (many of the companies developing apps don’t need to be right in Silicon Valley anymore to attract talent), markets like Austin, Texas; and Florida’s new tech corridor (from Orlando to Tampa) stand to benefit.
These are only a few of the trends that we cover in our 2013 report that may be affecting your local Apartment, Office, Industrial or Retail markets.
Review or download the Sperry Van Ness® Top Trends and Markets to Watch in 2013.
John Snyder, CPM, SIOR, Managing Director at Sperry Van Ness | Investec Realty Services
1. What is your geographic market and product specialty?
Our firm has offices in both Memphis and Nashville, Tenn., serving those regions as well as areas of Mississippi. We service a variety of clients from large institutional owners of office parks to local investors and regional banks. On the tenant representation side, our clients range from Fortune 100 firms with needs of 275,000 square feet to small not-for-profit organizations. Due to our SVN affiliation, we have been able to partner with other SVN professionals to add value to our clients’ portfolios. We also offer property management and consulting services.
2. What’s your latest best practice tip that you can share?
As referrals and relationships are the focus of our business, we strive to develop personal relationships with our clients. Being in a smaller market and providing a wide range of real estate services, establishing that personal relationship is paramount to our business. We also try to qualify our clients early in the process, following Patrick Lencioni’s Getting Naked business fable. When we match with our clients, our successes expand and referrals grow.
3. What’s been the biggest changeover on how you run your business in the past decade?
With the explosion of real estate information that is readily available to clients, we are faced with a re-education and prioritizing of data that is germane to a successful transaction. The experienced, knowledgeable, ethical real estate professional who continues to study, improve skill sets, and collaborate will remain a sought after advisor from the owners and users of real estate.
4. What business book do you like to recommend to your colleagues?
Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich is a basic primer for personal development and goal setting and it has never failed me! John C. Maxwell offers a library of leadership and team development education. His latest, Everyone Communicates, Few Connect provides invaluable techniques for business practice improvement. Lencioni also has several books that help with improvements in teamwork, consulting, leadership, and personal development, including Death By Meeting.
5. What’s a fun fact that not everyone knows about you?
Here’s a few. I learned to accurately determine distances for measuring real estate (office buildings and golf courses) while walking more than 50 hours of punishment tours prior to graduation from the United States Military Academy at West Point. As a U.S. Army Corps of Engineer officer, I was qualified to both jump out of perfectly good aircraft and deploy and detonate tactical nuclear devices. For fun, I continue to officiate soccer matches at the collegiate, high school, and youth competitive levels. With more than 2200 matches completed, I have run farther than Forrest Gump – and I appreciate all the unsolicited advice and expertise provided by the uninformed coaches, players, and spectators!
*All Sperry Van Ness® offices are independently owned and operated.
Kevin Maggiacomo, President & CEO of Sperry Van Ness International Corp.
I’m often asked why we give away some of the (otherwise proprietary) Sperry Van Ness® systems, tools and resources. I’m further asked why SVN is investing in the development of new tools if only to hand some of them out to the brokerage community at large. “Aren’t we aiding our competitors?” “Are we losing pieces of our differentiated value proposition in doing so?” These are a few of the questions often posed to me.
While losing market share and eroding gross margin are obviously not the extirpative goals of the aforementioned strategy, in this post I’ll attempt to clarify why we have taken our culture of collaboration up a notch, and how doing so is facilitating growth across all key performance indicators while helping to improve the fractured state of the commercial real estate (CRE) industry.
By way of background, SVN was founded on the premise that proactively cooperating and collaborating with our brokerage brethren – sharing our fees 50/50 in the process – is the right thing to do for the client and is the only way to ensure maximum value for a property. Debating the merits of that ethos is a topic for another day, and last month we released the SVN Difference Video, which scrutinized the CRE industry and its asset disposition practices, and was met with strong emotional reaction.
In terms of opening-up and creating new SVN products for the benefit of the brokerage community, we’ve rolled out the following in the past 12 months, which can be categorized and described as follows:
Compensated Cooperation: The SVN Monday Morning Sales call is now open to the public. There, we showcase new listings procured by our SVN Advisors over the previous 7 days. Every listing includes a buy-side commission which is always ½ of what the SVN Advisor stands to earn as a matter of policy.
Education: We collaborated with more than 10 commercial real estate firms and industry organizations to launch www.CREvine.com, an open resource platform for CRE professionals to acquire new skills, gain knowledge, and “level-up” their practices.
Marketing: Lastly, and as a BETA test, we’ve opened up a good portion of our (now retired) OnlinePublisherTM system. Called CRElaunch, owners and brokers alike can use the tool to create brochures and market their properties (a word of caution here – the product is in BETA and has a long way to go).
But back to the topic at hand.
We collaborate not to merely suggest that “we’re the good guys,” but because we truly believe that making the otherwise dysfunctional commercial real estate market more efficient will benefit all stakeholders, including Sperry Van Ness.
Simply put, collaborating – harnessing the power of broad horizontal networks of participants to achieve a better outcome – will drive market efficiency and liquidity, while simultaneously increasing revenue and profitability to those who collaborate. At SVN, we’ve aggressively grown our business by subscribing to this ethos and receive direct benefit in the following manner:
Recruiting: As a CRE advisory, one of our biggest economic generators is recruiting talented, ethical and productive advisors. Our opening-up certain components of SVN has allowed us to create relationships with thousands of brokers and we’ve recruited or awarded a brokerage position or SVN franchise to a small percentage of this new constituency.
Retention: Just as strong as recruiting is a vital key performance indicator of growth, attrition (of producing Advisors) can have devastating consequences for an organization. Through thought leadership, the contemporary nature of our collaborative growth strategy, and via a transparent business model, our attrition rate is at a 5-year low.
Sales: When one harnesses the power of the entire brokerage community to market a for sale asset, organized competition is generated, multiple offers are posited, the market speaks, and the highest price is achieved. Our compensated cooperation strategy, coupled with our core covenants, define SVN while moving inventory faster and at a higher price.
New Business Development: It’s tough to argue against the growth strategies of the likes of Google, Skype, and Innocentive in suggesting that their “Freemium” business models don’t create raving fans, loyal customers, and a myriad of cross-selling opportunities (each of these companies offer a free “attraction” product while simultaneously offering paid premium products). As described above, the SVN story – rooted in harnessing the power of collaboration to affect a better outcome – has been kicked-up a notch, shared with clients/prospects, has enhanced our point of differentiation, increased our “batting average,” and reduced the cost of sales. We are winning new listings, doing more business – all while putting the clients interests’ first.
Mass collaboration, while not ubiquitous in CRE brokerage, is now a staple of the new economy and it’s here to stay. As the members of Generation X & Y grow to positions of increasing power and control, collaboration and Freemium business strategies will become the norm in CRE as well. Until then, I’ll continue to invest in the creation of new products and to share some of those we previously created.
Kevin Maggiacomo is the President and CEO of Sperry Van Ness International Corp.
*All Sperry Van Ness® offices are independently owned and operated.
Nationally, hotel occupancy is currently running about 64%, up from 62% last year, while Average Daily Rates (ADR) continue to climb: $110 versus $105 last year.
Viewed from a chain scale perspective, Luxury is the most robust both in terms of absolute numbers and the rate of increase. In this segment, occupancy stands at 79% versus last year’s 76% and ADR is at $297 versus $278. Luxury is followed by Upper Upscale, Upscale, Upper Midscale and Independents. Midscale and Economy are at the bottom, with occupancy for economy properties of only 55% versus 54% and ADR of $53 versus $51 last year.
The strongest locations are urban and resort, followed by airport. Among the top 25 markets, Miami is a standout with more than 89% occupancy presently and a $235 ADR (no doubt contributed to by the Sperry Van Ness 2013 National Conference). Other markets enjoying more than 80% occupancy include: New Orleans, New York, Oahu, Orlando Phoenix and Tampa.
Norfolk was at the bottom with only 48% occupancy, representing a 3% decline. San Diego lost 3.2% occupancy points, down to a still healthy 71%. These markets are heavily influenced by military and defense contract business, and thus, are beginning to feel the effects of sequestration. Sequestration also mean automatic spending cuts, including all non-essential government travel, making the pinch felt in places like San Antonio, where the September National Defense Forum and Expo was cancelled, and in Northern Virginia and Washington, DC, where more than 30% of the market is government and government contractor business.
Transactions
From a transactional viewpoint, 2013 looks promising. Smith Travel Research (STR) projects hotel transactions of between $15 and $20 billion, up from about $12.5 billion last year but down from 2011’s $19 billion, which was driven by major hedge fund and REIT transactions. To give some perspective, five of the last ten years’ volume was under $15 billion.
Until now transactions were powered by cheap debt and commensurately low cap rates. This was coupled with very limited lending for new hotel construction that kept supply growth at only about 0.3%, which in the face of increasing demand, allowed hotels to increase their average rates. However, according to STR’s latest numbers, hotels in construction are up 39.9% year-over-year. The active pipeline includes more than 320,000 new hotel rooms, equal to a whopping 10% increase. Nevertheless, STR predicts that demand growth will continue to outpace supply growth through 2014, with RevPar increasing between 5.7% and 6% through next year.
The bottom line is that hotel owners who have enjoyed a rebound, even if not to the extent of 2007 peak levels, should consider the opportunity to sell in the near term on the strength of improved revenue before the effects of sequestration, supply growth and inflation bring down hotel values.
Mark Alexander, 2012 Trainer of the Year with SVNIC VP of Organizational Development, Bo Barron
The Sperry Van Ness® Trainer of the Year Award is bestowed to the advisor who most exemplifies the qualities of a high-caliber mentor. In 2012, that advisor was Mark Alexander, CCIM. Mark provides training and shares knowledge with advisors throughout the United States in one-on-one mentoring opportunities, speaking engagements, a monthly newspaper column and by conducting monthly Medical Office Product Council calls.
The Managing Director at Sperry Van Ness/Mark Alexander Commercial Realty LLC, in Fort Myers, Florida, Mark specializes in helping doctors do sale/leaseback transactions on their medical office buildings. Mark has sold more than 79 medical office buildings between Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Illinois. He also represented numerous banks selling retail, office and industrial properties in southwest Florida.
As the SVN Medical Office Product Council Chair, Mark regularly shares his knowledge and time with more than 100 people who call in to his monthly council calls. These calls prove Mark’s focused expertise in medical office buildings, as well as his leadership in helping others in the field.
Mentors are people who use their hard-earned experience and insight to help newcomers to a profession. Mark Alexander was a mentor when he used his knowledge, gleaned from years working with medical real estate, to assist one of SVN’s newest franchisees, Laura Salome. Laura, who has a background in pharmaceutical sales and is based in El Paso, TX, was new to the medical real estate arena. Although Laura had secured an appointment with a doctor who owned three medical office buildings (MOBs), she was not sure how to best give a listing presentation to him. Laura reached out to Mark, who put together a custom listing presentation, which he provided to Laura prior to her meeting. Laura and Mark double-teamed the presentation, with Mark on a speaker phone and Laura showing slides and materials in person. This joint presentation was successful, resulting in a signed listing, and has lead to Mark and Laura continuing to collaborate on other listing presentations.
Mark often speaks to groups about commercial real estate. He was the featured office market speaker at several annual CCIM Outlook Conferences in Ft.Myers. He has also hosted and spoken at dinner seminars for doctors in San Francisco, Chicago, Kansas City, Raleigh, Charlotte, Charleston, Atlanta, Orlando, Naples and Fort Myers.
Additionally, Mark writes a monthly column for the Sunday edition of the Fort Myers News-Press on commercial real estate issues.
Sperry Van Ness | Mark Alexander Commercial Realty LLC
1. What has been your strategy for growing your firm and also your market share?
A few of our key strategies that allow us to be strongly poised for future growth and should assist other SVN offices include:
Knowledge: We feel knowledge is power! We have probably the best access to information in our Detroit and Michigan market than most of our local competitors. Not only do we have data supplied by the normal informational sources as Real Capital Analytics, CoStar, LoopNet, SVN market updates and SVN training, but this knowledge is supplemented by over 25 trained local area product type specialists connected nationally with 60 other offices. This is through our adjacent office “partner” Integra Realty Resources, one of the largest appraisal firms in our local market and the country.
Technology: We have a great toolbox of all the latest technology in commercial real estate – Tablets/Smartphones, commercial property apps, databases, BuildOut ™ (SVNIC is an enterprise user of BuildOut’s single point of entry online marketing and tracking system), SVN app (SVN Connect), etc. With this technology, we can operate from anywhere and effectively market our services to and for our client.
Social Media: We are active in social media with thousands of followers on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook (currently more than 8,000 connections). This provides the added advantages of keeping us instantly updated with current market trends; providing great search engine optimization; and giving us an exceptional marketing tool for maintaining high visibility and close relationships.
Individual Visibility: We are highly visible both locally and nationally not only on the internet but on a personal one-on-one basis. We are members of numerous local and national boards and committees, including individuals on our team serving as president of the Commercial Board of Realtors, as committee members with the Counselors of Real Estate of the National Association of Realtors, on the boards of local and national CEO/business groups and the boards/committees of many non-profit groups. All this is supplemented with speaking engagements, publications, articles, press releases, and other outreach.
Connections: Our 40 years of strategic networking have led to us being connected to most of the movers and shakers on the local and national levels.
National and International Access: We achieve national and international access through our association with Sperry Van Ness International Corporation (175 locations nationwide), Integra Realty Resources (60 locations nationwide), the Counselors of Real Estate (1,100 high level executives in most markets) and our national CEO group (80 locations nationwide).
Location: We are located in Birmingham, Michigan, which is a north-central suburb of the Detroit metropolitan area. Our strategic and central location allows us to reach most of the Detroit metropolitan area in 20 minutes. That’s easy access to more than 4.5 million people!
Demographics: Being in the Birmingham/Bloomfield market allows us to be near the wealthiest individuals in Michigan. These are the people that can purchase real estate on an investment basis or CEOs and high level executives that can lease or purchase properties for their companies.
2. What are some of the unique activities you do to motivate your team?
Enthusiasm! Motivation for us comes from liking what we do and liking the people we do it with. It has been said that if you love what you do, you don’t have to work a day in your life. It is always exciting, for example, to deal with the top ½% of wealth in the population and work with them to achieve their goals, whether it is for investment purposes or helping them with their companies. We have access to all the credentials and people needed to solve our clients’ problems and properly market their properties (e.g.: Counselors of Real Estate (CRE’s) , CCIM’s, MAI’s, CPA’s, CPM’s, MBA’s, SIORs, etc.). We pride ourselves on working and “playing” with our clients to achieve together what we consider the four key elements of a successful great life: family, faith, business and social.
3. What’s been the biggest challenge on how you run your business over the last few years?
Our biggest challenge was the difficulties faced by the Detroit market from 2008 to 2011. The auto industry was in the worst shape it had ever been in, impacting the health of local businesses. This was compounded by one of the worst real estate markets nationally. Since then, there has been a tremendous turnaround in the auto industry and the area, causing a large potential of new business and many outstanding opportunities both for us as an office, and for our clients. Now our challenge will be to close new business, which can take some time to finalize, and replenish what was previously a deteriorated cash flow.
4. How many Advisors/Staff did you have when you joined SVN? How many (in total) do you have now?
Our SVN office’s intent has been to maintain quality not quantity. We may not be the biggest but we are one of the best! As mentioned above, we use everything possible, including the latest technology, to give the best service to our clients. We subcontract out to specialists when necessary to reduce unnecessary overhead. We have adjacent office space with Integra Realty, which not only provides quality information and synergy, but great conference facilities, audio visual, printers, administration, copy machines, distribution services and a great professional office setting.
Sperry Van Ness | Property Investment Advisors, LLC Birmingham, MI
Robert Pliska, Managing Director of Sperry Van Ness/Property Investment Advisors, LLC
Kevin Maggiacomo, President & Chief Executive Officer of Sperry Van Ness International Corporation
As President and CEO of Sperry Van Ness International Corporation, my role, aside from addressing the perennially evolving needs of the organization, is to spend a good percentage of my time on strategy and “second wave growth.” Creating a real estate services platform, scaling-up new offerings like property management and auction, but also on expanding upon the disruption that our compensated cooperation model has had on the industry is where I spent a considerable amount of my time. In this post I’ll share with you why we’ve funded and embraced such an “innovation lab” at SVN, and describe why it’s an important cause.
Inspired by the Motley Fool, whose two founders I recently spent time with at the Conscious Capitalism conference, let us consider the following notion: Becoming a leading company in an industry requires the right people, and I’m not talking about at the executive level, but at every level. An appetite for change has to be in a company’s DNA. But being an industry leader also requires a tremendous amount of imagination… imagining a different world. A world almost like the one we live in now, but more efficient. Becoming a laggard in an industry requires a lack of imagination. And just like any industry on the planet, there are forces that will disrupt commercial real estate brokerage and we are not immune.
Change happens to industries. Just ask a newspaper publisher, or anyone who invested in that industry in recent years. We still read newspapers – in fact we read them more today than in previous generations – but we don’t read them in quite the same way. And without a bridge loan from the then richest man on the planet, even the patriarch of the publishers – The New York Times – would have filed for bankruptcy protection. Were there warnings this would happen? You bet.
Back in 1993, a man named Gordy Thompson worked for The New York Times, and his job title was “Internet Services Manager.” Rest assured that in the C-Suite at The Times, no one knew what the role included, much less understood that it was arguably the most important position at the newspaper. As the story goes, Thompson tried – and failed to deliver the following message to The Times execs: “When a 14-year old kid can blow up your business in his spare time, not because he hates you but because he loves you, then you’ve got a problem.”
Thompson was in the habit of hanging out on Internet message boards, if you remember those from back in the day. There, Thompson noticed that fans of the Miami Herald columnist Dave Barry were re-posting Barry’s columns on the 2,000 person strong Usenet so that people who couldn’t read the Herald now could. In other words, the greatest competitive threat for newspapers was the popularity of their own content. People wanted more of it where and when they wanted – on their terms.
This same trend has occurred in the financial industry when we began facilitating our own trades online – and the list goes on. Did people stop traveling? No, they stopped paying travel agents. And you better believe there was a Gordy Thompson every time, sounding the alarm, telling the corporate executives to use a little imagination. Saying “people want what they want, when they want it, where they want it and how they want it. And if we don’t figure out a way to give it to them, they are going to get it somewhere else.”
Innovating to develop new methods of providing Commercial Real Estate (CRE) advisory services, working towards making the opaque and antiquated CRE industry more transparent and efficient are a few of the causes which drive the SVN innovation lab’s purpose – embracing the disruptive economic forces inherent in other industries is a big focus of our leadership team. When we talk about opening up parts of SVN – our Monday Morning Sales Calls to anyone who wants to listen or the previous version of our OnlinePublisherTM (www.crelaunch.com) – we’re focusing on increasing our productivity through collaboration with the entire industry, making it more efficient in the process. This is the Sperry Van Ness® Difference. To learn more check out our SVN Difference Video.
Kevin Maggiacomo is the President and CEO of Sperry Van Ness International Corp.
*All Sperry Van Ness® offices are independently owned and operated.
Ben Alder, Advisor with Sperry Van Ness | Miller Commercial Real Estate
Ben Alder, an advisor from Sperry Van Ness/Miller Commercial Real Estate out of Salisbury, Maryland, is a contributing author for LandThink. By bring together various components of the land industry, LandThink is able to provide knowledge, ideas and networking opportunities to land professionals and investors to create a stronger land marketplace.
In a recent article, Ben takes a closer look at farmland values and the economic principles driving the value.
The last serious decline to farmland value occurred in the 1980s. Since then, annual growth in some states has risen in the double digit range, while between 1994 and 2004, the national average farm real estate value increased between 2 and 4 percent. Contrasting this to 2005 and 2006 they increased by 16 and 10 percent, respectively. The recession of 2008 to 2009 did bring some modest dip in farmland value, the hardest hit states were those with greater levels of suburban development and urbanization, a factor very well understood on the Eastern Shore of Maryland and other Mid Atlantic States. In 2010 to 2011 states in the Corn Belt and Great Plains experienced significant growth in cropland values including a 31 percent spike in Iowa. While prices sky rocketed in these bread basket States, areas of the Southeast and Northeast experience declines in value as transitional influences changing land use in these more urbanized markets continued to trail off. Greater detail on this research can be garnered from the September 2012 edition of the Economics of Food, Farming, Natural Resources and Rural America Journal produced by USDA’s Economic Research Service.
To view Ben’s article in its entirety, click here.
For the office market, the next few years should see a significant shift back to the private client marketplace and away from distressed commercial real estate.
In my 40 years of real estate and finance experience, I have identified several leading indicators that serve to predict changes in the market. These are:
Compression of cap rates on single tenant net leased investments;
The insatiable acquisition of “trophy projects” in all product verticals;
An apartment market on fire with the fuel of cheap long-term money and many sources for it;
Resurgence of demand for land, lots and subdivisions from the largest public home builders all the way down to some of the smaller in-fill local and regional players, also fueled by low interest rates.
It’s clear that the office market will benefit from these real estate and economic indicators. However, the office market does face some challenges, including a significant variance in the numbers being published on office vacancy and activity, and the varying pricing tiers based on quality and location. These challenges may spell an opportunity for the astute investor and commercial real estate advisor to provide added value.
Advisors should be careful with the sources they quote. For example, REIS reports the National Office Vacancy at 17.1% and .50 basis points below the recession high while CoStar reports National Office Vacancy at 11.9%, which would be 5.70% better than the recession high.
Following are some current statistics:
Vacancy levels for different classes of buildings:
Class- A projects are at 13.3%
Class-B projects are at 12.4%
Class-C projects are at 8.8%
(Obviously the discounts and concessions in the better buildings are going away and rents are firming. Tenants still seek affordability, especially until their business and the economy improve)
U.S. CBD vacancy is 10.9%
U.S. Suburban vacancy is 12.2%
There is still a lot of reported Class A sub-lease space at 27M s.f. or 58% of all sublease space. Still, a significant amount of excess and under-utilized space is not formally on the market.
Suburban markets make up 33M s.f. of the sublease inventory or 71% of the total.
Lastly, a significant number of office property owners want to get off the vertical, based not only on the property’s age, but their own age and where they are in their personal investment cycle (they may be older, want more freedom, want to lower management issues, tired of tenant issues and demands, etc.). This situation creates a new frontier of adaptive re-use, space design and modification for today’s virtual or hoteling tenant and their employees along with a significant shift back into the vibrant American CBDs.
In my opinion, the product that represents the greatest opportunity is Class A suburban office, as long as it is properly priced.
Today, the most important part of advising clients is being aware of your local competitive landscape. Additionally, you must know what the new tenancy needs, wants and demands plus how the growing focus in space design on more “we” space instead of the “me” space of old (like law firms at 350 s.f. per person on average) will affect your client’s specific property.
As of Q2, I think the future is bright and the office market will continue to be at the core of commercial real estate.
Wesley Cox, CCIM, senior advisor at Sperry Van Ness/Miller Commercial Real Estate
1. What is your geographic market and product specialty?
I cover most of Maryland’s eastern shore. I have experience in all product types with a specialty in dealing with people.
2. What’s your latest best practice tip that you can share?
Be visible in your community. This often means getting involved with non-profit organizations, your local chamber of commerce, and/or attending local charity events. Many of the folks you’ll meet and get to know are CRE stakeholders. We just won a large buyer rep assignment almost solely from being involved in the community.
3. What’s been the biggest change over on how you run your business in the past decade?
I just hit the decade mark in business and I would have to say the biggest change I’ve made in the last few years is to make more calls. Coming out of college I relied a lot on technology but nothing replaces actually talking to people.
4. What business book do you like to recommend to your colleagues?
5. What’s a fun fact that not everyone knows about you?
Here are two fun facts:
Growing up I never missed a day of school and I had 13 years of perfect attendance. And for the last two years, I’ve been an assistant coach for a high school varsity soccer team that won the Maryland State Championship last season.
*All Sperry Van Ness® offices are independently owned and operated.
The Sperry Van Ness® 2012 Rookie of the Year award is given to the advisor who is either new to the commercial real estate brokerage field or new to the Sperry Van Ness organization, and closes the most deals in that first year. This year’s honoree is Jennifer Donathan, a senior investment advisor at Sperry Van Ness/Commercial Real Estate in Liberty Township, Ohio.
Jennifer Donathan, 2012 Rookie of the Year with SVNIC President and CEO Kevin Maggiacomo
Perhaps the secret to Jennifer’s success is that in just a short time she has developed an efficient system for generating listings. First, Jennifer works hard to maintain an organized, complete, and accurate database of investors for her asset type. She then makes it a point to communicate with those investors on a regular basis, usually through email blasts.
Once Jennifer has secured a listing, she reaches out to surrounding property owners in order to further promote her services. This has been a very successful tactic, as it helps to build up her reputation and generate referrals.
Jennifer advises that to be successful, advisors should concentrate on two things:
1. Keeping the momentum going. Deals always have numerous challenges such as financing, appraisals and inspections. Advisors should work to come up with viable solutions to those challenges quickly to keep the momentum going. Staying on top of the lender, title company, buyer, seller, and other broker also keeps the deal flowing and ensures confidence among all parties involved in the deal.
2. Only activating a listing when it is complete. The more organized and complete the package is upfront, the less time you will have to devote to answering, searching for, and providing information that should have been readily available. Having a complete listing allows you to focus on marketing. Buyers will move on to other properties if they can’t get their questions answered or if there are no supporting materials to back the marketing package.
*All Sperry Van Ness® offices are independently owned and operated.
1. What has been your strategy for growing your firm and also your market share?
Our Silicon Valley location gives us exceptional access to many wealthy people who are interested in diversifying into real estate. We offer a full services approach that includes ongoing management of real estate investments through our in-house property management team. We have developed deep expertise in assisting our clients with obtaining attractive financing, completing 1031 exchanges, and assisting them in turning around troubled assets.
We have also developed skills in working with specialized ownership structures such as Tenant in Common (TIC) and Delaware Statutory Trusts (DST). This knowledge and experience provides us with significant differentiation that sets us apart from most commercial real estate companies. Finally, from day one, we have embraced the Sperry Van Ness philosophy of collaboration with other commercial real estate and management firms and split fees and commissions with other brokers in order to broaden our resources to better assist our clients. Through collaboration with other brokers, we are also able to expand our services nationwide and offer our clients “best of class” resources outside of local area. Our affiliation with SVN two years ago has proved to be a highly successful move to increase our branding resulting in two of our most successful years. Through SVN, we have also developed many new friends and business associates that have generously shared helpful ideas with us leading to greater business success.
2. What are some of the unique activities you do to motivate your team?
Nothing unusual. We treat all of our employees as insiders and fully share details of all deals in our weekly staff meetings. We also provide bonuses to employees for every closed transaction plus annual bonuses based on our annual net profit. We celebrate our successes with special lunches and have a refrigerator that includes chilled champagne that is shared on each closing.
3. What’s been the biggest challenge on how you run your business over the last few years?
Finding good talent. We are competing with some the best, highest paying companies in the world and finding and retaining good people is our biggest challenge. We have been very fortunate to recruit excellent people who have a passion for commercial real estate and have been successful in retaining them. However we have also experienced undesired turnover which causes us to be constantly thinking about ways to keep our current folks happy and also attract talented new people.
4. How many Advisors/Staff did you have when you joined SVN? How many (in total) do you have now?
We have generally maintained a core staff of about 8-10 people at our corporate offices. However we manage several hundred service providers across the US who work closely with us on various projects in addition to working with many third party sales and leasing agents across the US. Through frequent conference calls and use of screen sharing and video via WebEx, we are able to significantly expand our resources and develop a close-knit large team that greatly expands our capabilities.
Sperry Van Ness | First Guardian Group San Jose, CA
The office that best embodies the Sperry Van Ness® culture and thus is able to increase its market share receives the Sperry Van Ness Firm of the Year award. This year, the award is given to Sperry Van Ness/Miller Commercial Real Estate.
SVN Miller, which has offices in Maryland and Delaware, has been a Sperry Van Ness franchisee since 2007. That was the year that the principals decided to bring together the top commercial producers in the area to form a specialized commercial real estate group. Since then, SVN Miller has commanded a high market share by growing its main office by recruiting high-achieving sales agents who embody SVN core covenants and culture, and expanding their footprint in the Mid-Atlantic through the addition of four satellite offices.
The SVN Miller team started out in January 2007 with 15 staff members including two managing directors and eight advisors. Today, they have doubled the staff, to 31 total, all working among its five offices.
SVN Miller places a lot of emphasis on having a sociable atmosphere by involving the entire staff in various group activities throughout the year. SVN Miller holds an annual investor forum each year in which advisors and the marketing team get together. It has also hosted several broker forums where all commercial agents in the area are invited to collaborate on deals.
A great example of SVN Miller’s strong team spirit came through during Hurricane Sandy. As the ocean flowed down the streets of Salisbury, Maryland, the team saw first-hand the devastation of a national disaster. Yet, within a month, thanks to the entire staff including spouses and children who help move out, renovate, move back in, decorate, work through IT issues and more – SVN Miller was back fully operational, barely missing a beat during the crisis.
But it goes beyond socializing and educational get-togethers. Miller believes in team-building though community service projects. Every year, the offices participate in several community projects such working with Habitat for Humanity, doing a river clean up through the local Chamber of Commerce or participating in a Warrior Dash. Advisors and staff, who each have favorite charities and causes and want a chance to showcase them, provide the project ideas.
Perhaps most telling of Miller’s team culture is the set of “success bells” that hang in the back of the office. Each time an advisor has a new contract, settlement or other good news, the advisor rings the bells, which starts a chain of congratulations that creates their unique team camaraderie.
*All Sperry Van Ness® offices are independently owned and operated.
The Ambassador Award is given every year to an advisor who embodies the Sperry Van Ness® culture and helps contribute to the success of the entire Sperry Van Ness organization.
Curt Arthur, SIOR, Managing Director of Sperry Van Ness Commercial Advisors, LLC based in Salem, Ore., is the recipient of the 2012 Ambassador Award. Since joining Sperry Van Ness in 2007, he has championed the brand locally, regionally and nationally.
Curt Arthur, 2012 Ambassador of the Year
Local Presence
In less than two years, Curt’s office went from being a start up to achieving number one status in Salem. Curt and his team took the Sperry Van Ness brand from obscurity to a wellknown and well-regarded name in the Willamette Valley. Additionally, Curt hosts the only annual commercial real estate economic forum event in their market, which is attended by many community, business, and real estate leaders in Oregon.
Regional Push
Regionally, Curt has helped strengthen the Sperry Van Ness brand in the Pacific Northwest by assisting company leaders in helping recruit outside firms looking to join the organization as franchisees. His work was vital in helping Sperry Van Ness establish a foothold in the Seattle market in 2008 and to expand into Portland, Ore. in 2010. Currently, Curt is working in tertiary markets throughout Oregon and is expected to open additional Sperry Van Ness offices in the state as branch offices of his company.
National Service
Curt serves on the National Advisory Board for Sperry Van Ness International Corporation and assists in guiding the brand nationally. He regularly participates in national recruiting calls and often serves as speaker or moderator at national SVN events.
Curt is a top 50 producer for Sperry Van Ness International. He was the recipient of the 2010 Humanitarian of the Year for his community service in Salem, where he lives with his wife and his two children.
*All Sperry Van Ness® offices are independently owned and operated.
This week we feature John Williams, Managing Director, Sperry Van Ness / Delta Group Realty Inc., in Novato, CA.
John Williams, Managing Director, SVN/Delta Group Realty
1. What is your geographic market and product specialty?
Marin and Sonoma Counties in Northern California are my primary market areas. I specialize in office and retail sales and leasing.
2. What’s your latest best practice tip that you can share?
Collaborating with two other SVN brokers on a proposal, we used Mike Lipsey to help us craft our proposal on a large office property for sale. Mike helped us craft our presentation to help us get the listing and we refined it several times before our meeting. It was well worth the time and effort and this was the most professional presentation that I’ve made in my 32 years as a broker. The Lipsey videos can be found on the SVN Resource Portal.
3. What’s been the biggest change over on how you run your business in the past decade?
We have increased our reliance on technology over the past ten years without changing our primarily listing side business model. We market our listings electronically much more than ten years ago when the telephone was our primary method of selling or leasing properties. I’m still a belly to belly guy but LoopNet and CoStar have helped us make big changes in how we run our business.
4. What business book do you like to recommend to your colleagues?
Like most busy brokers, organizing my time and prioritizing my daily activities into dollar productive activity is a real challenge. I continue to read and re-read Brian Tracy’s “Eat that Frog” which is a follow up to his book “Goals” that was presented at the Sperry Van Ness 2012 National Conference. It helps me to stop procrastinating and get more done on a daily basis. My focus is sharpened and it has helped pay my dividends.
5. What’s a fun fact that not everyone knows about you?
I live just north of San Francisco in California’s wine country. For the past 35 years, wine tasting, wine research and wine drinking have been hobbies of mine. I’ve shared wine information and recommendations with many of my SVN colleagues. It’s a fun hobby to have!
*All Sperry Van Ness® offices are independently owned and operated.
As an early adopter of using the iPad as a selling tool, Ryan Imbrie is a natural choice for the Sperry Van Ness® 2012 Innovator of the Year Award. This award is given to an advisor who embraces the latest technology to further his or her business and career. Ryan, working the International Council of Shopping Centers RECon floor with his iPad in hand, truly personifies the message that SVN is the company of the future.
Ryan Imbrie, 2012 Innovator of the Year with SVNIC’s Vice President for Organizational Development Bo Barron
Ryan is a CCIM and a senior advisor at SVN/Imbrie Realty, LLC in Portland, Ore. He believes in using readily available technology to increase productivity. Ryan is never far from his iPad where, with the swipe of a finger, he is able to access all his listings, due diligence, and database contacts. When most brokers may still be dragging around massive binders with their listings, Ryan uses the iPad during meetings to show clients existing inventory.
Ryan also uses the iPad to its full real estate potential. He uploads PDF marketing packages into one of three folders: Current Listings, Closed Transactions, and Pocket Listings using iBooks. During client meetings, Ryan is able to show detailed listings and immediately email a full package if there is an interest.
To increase the functionality of the iPad, Ryan uses and recommends the following apps:
The SVN Connect App: SVN’s own app offers access to all of our listings, advisors and offices, along with a suite of helpful tools
LoopNet: The property listing service
PocketProfile: Ticor Title’s App allows you to pull up ownership information based on an address or the more useful “Near Me” feature
Dropbox: A useful tool for sharing due diligence with brokers or buyers
UPad: Excellent note-taking app
Splashtop: Allows remote access to a desktop or laptop computer
AppBox Pro: This app provides a loan and amortization tool
MagicPlan: A tool that uses the camera on the iPad to create basic floor plans
A Fin Pro: A financial calculator
WhitePages: A phone book on the go
Ryan uses technology as a productivity booster, but it doesn’t substitute for the skills needed to succeed in commercial real estate. He says: “I remind myself on a regular basis that business is not won based on technology. The key to success in commercial real estate is forging relationships.”
*All Sperry Van Ness® offices are independently owned and operated.
The Houston, Texas apartment market is the fourth largest in the country with nearly 600,000 units. Looking at the real estate drivers, it’s easy see why there’s so much demand. More than 90,000 jobs were added in 2012. New construction of offices in the energy corridor, a new Exxon campus in Harris County, and new apartment construction throughout the Houston area has created a large employment demand that’s expected to be strong for at least the next two years. The Houston Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area (CMSA) has gained about 90,000 jobs per year since 2011 which creates a demand for 18,000 new apartment units per year.
Average Class A cap rates have continued to decrease since mid-2010, from 7% to a low of 5.5% in 2012. During the same time average sales prices increased from $50,000 to $66,000/unit. Cap rates for 2013 are projected to stay about the same for Class A properties at about 5.4% to 5.6%. Values will tend to increase as much as 10% due to new demand from job growth and the lagging supply of new product which should cause rents to increase. Class B cap rates should range from 7.0% to 7.5% and Class Cs at 8% to 8.5%. Now is the time to sell before we go into “hypersupply” foreseen in about 18 months.
Vacancy Trend Shows 0.8% Improvement in 2012
Decreasing vacancy rates is one characteristic of the “expansion cycle.” Overall occupancy for all classes has improved 0.8% from year end 2011 to year end 2012. Based on the projected job growth for 2013, net occupancy should increase 1.0% in 2013. A projected 13,000+ units will come on the market in 2013.
High Absorption/Low Construction
While the characteristic of the expansion phase is high absorption, Houston saw an absorption in 2012 of about 12,250 units. The first half of 2012 was a positive 7,141 units with a positive 5,112 units absorbed in the second half. This year, we should see an increase in absorption to as much as 16,000 units. Construction remained moderate in 2012 with 5,457 units constructed. Construction for the past 3 years (2010-2012) has averaged 5,222 units. In 2009 construction peaked at 19,330 units. Construction projections for 2013 anticipate as many as 13,000 units to be completed. At year end 2012 there were 12,785 units under construction and an additional 7,792 units proposed.
Employment Growth
Our fourth characteristic in defining the expansion cycle is a market that shows moderate to high employment growth. As you can see from the Employment Growth chart, Houston has seen a large increase in employment growth in the last three years with last year increasing to 90,000 net new jobs after a negative 102.8 thousand lost in 2009. Basically, we have recovered the 2009 losses in the last three years. Jobs are projected to increase in 2013 to about 91,000. Historically Houston absorbs 1 new unit for every 5 new jobs.
About 16,000 units are expected to be absorbed in 2013. In 2012 there were 198 garden apartment sales in the Houston CMSA – up 13% from 2011. Projections for 2013 are 250 properties based on Houston’s peak years.
Rental Rates and Rent Concessions…
As seen from the Rental Rate chart, in the last two years rental rates in the Houston area have increased about 9.4% or 4.7% per year.
Rental rates are expected to rise in 2013 for Class A & B apartments 4.7% above that of the 2012 levels. Rent concessions are almost non-existent except in the low end Class C & D properties.
Top 6 Lenders of Garden Apartments in 2011-2012
1. Holliday Fenoglio Fowler
880 units
$161,266,000 Total Volume
2. Wells Fargo Bank
2,207 units
$118,095,000 Total Volume
3. CBRE Multifamily Capital
1,832 units
$114,537,111 Total Volume
4. Jones Lang LaSalle
2,822 units
$105,663 Total Volume
5. Berkadia Commercial Mortgage
1,208 units
$84,100,000 Total Volume
6. Metropolitan Life Insurance
960 units
$72,090,000 Total Volume
Is it Time to Buy or Sell?
The best time to buy in Houston was the fourth quarter of 2010 to the 4th quarter of 2012 if you had money to rehab and could wait for the upside. Well the upside is here and expected to continue in the Houston CMSA through 2017 based on job growth and a 3-year lull in new construction. It is definitely a seller’s market and good properties are hard to find. If you are looking for an increasing income in a dynamic market, it is time to buy or build. As an owner it is time to think about selling in the next 12 months.
Prepared by:
Bill Forrest, Sperry Van Ness® Forrest Group
Bill Forrest
MAI, Managing Director
Sperry Van Ness | W Forrest Group
Houston, Texas
*All Sperry Van Ness® offices are independently owned and operated.
Sperry Van Ness International Corporation (SVNIC) recently announced the recipients of the company’s top awards for 2012, spanning achievements among individual brokers and offices across the country. The awards were given out at the SVNIC annual sales conference in Miami, Fla. that was held Feb. 6-8, 2013.
The prestigious Partners’ Circle Awards were given to Sperry Van Ness® advisors who celebrated a gross annual commission income of $500,000 or more. Also among the top commission earners were the designated Achievers, who had the highest production numbers for 2012. Many of these same advisors helped their offices make it into SVNIC’s Top 20 Offices for 2012. Click here for full list.
The following individual awards were also handed out at the conference:
Firm of the Year: Sperry Van Ness/Miller Commercial Real Estate, Salisbury, Md.
Collaborator of the Year: Sperry Van Ness, LLC, Chicago
Ambassador of the Year: Curt Arthur, Sperry Van NessCommercial Advisors, LLC, Salem, Ore.
Humanitarian of the Year: Walter Helm, Sperry Van Ness/ Walter Helm, Sacramento, Calif.
Rookie of the Year: Jennifer Donathan, Sperry Van Ness/Commercial Real Estate (Barton W. Weprin) Liberty Township, Ohio
Prospector of the Year: Tony Yousif, Sperry Van Ness/Finest City Commercial, San Diego, Calif.
Team Player of the Year: John Rickert, Sperry Van Ness/RICORE Investment Management, Inc.,Cincinnati, Ohio
Innovator of the Year: Ryan Imbrie, Sperry Van Ness/Imbrie Realty, LLC, Portland, Ore.
Trainer of the Year: Mark Alexander, Sperry Van Ness(Mark Alexander), Fort. Myers, Fla.
Among that group of winners is Walter Helm (Humanitarian of the Year) who is not only a broker – but also a volunteer firefighter and volunteer pilot for the free medical flight group AirLifeLine. Mark Alexander (Trainer of the Year) volunteers his time to SVNIC’s Product Council on Medical Offices, sharing his expertise on the property sector with other franchisees. The Sperry Van Ness LLC office in Chicago was named Collaborator of the Year for working to promote cooperation among advisors – a key tenet of the SVNIC mission. In 2012, Sperry Van Ness LLC brought the largest number of new and recent closings to the company’s Monday National Sales Calls Program – which markets properties to brokers nationwide – regardless of their company affiliation.
“In the crowded commercial real estate field, Sperry Van Ness advisors stand apart,” said President and CEO Kevin Maggiacomo. “Through innovation and collaboration, these outstanding brokers and offices are providing the best service to their customers, and are setting the bar high for our field in 2013.”
*All Sperry Van Ness® offices are independently owned and operated.
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