Working for a company whose niche is the residential realm of Manhattan real estate, I started to feel that my understanding of the business as a whole was incomplete. In order for me to truly understand the market I was working in, and best service the needs of my clients; I increasingly felt that I needed to know what fed the residential market…and so began my commercial education.
I also increasingly saw that my residential clients and contacts could lead to commercial opportunities. I met with developers who needed sites for their new projects, as well as sales offices locations for their projects coming to market. Clients that were looking for apartments also needed office space; I met more and more retailers in my every day life who were interested in opening up new locations in Manhattan.
There seemed to be a large gap between the worlds of commercial and residential. I found myself interacting with more and more residential brokers and real estate professionals who had no one to go to for commercial assistance and insight. I had found my niche; I just needed to gain knowledge and confidence in the commercial field so I could start converting potential opportunities into deals.
I approached my CEO, Shaun Osher about incorporating a commercial division into the r company. He instantly saw the potential. We joined CoStar and other commercial MLS to ensure that we had the same access to the market as the top commercial brokerages. I educated myself gaining a comprehensive understanding of the commercial markets in the city. I was ready; I began contacting clients and colleagues in the industry. I started to not only receive referrals from my own clients and my colleagues at CORE, but from brokers of competing companies as well. With no place to turn, combined with the reputation I had created for myself, it became easy for competing brokers to trust me with their own clients’ commercial needs.
Over the past six months CORE has built up enough experience to formally establish a commercial branch. Later this fall we will be launching a new section onto our website, coregroupnyc.com. Keep an eye out for it, and contact me if you need any assistance with commercial clients, let our understanding of the market translate to success in your business.
