Christopher R. Ludeman, president of transaction management for CB Richard Ellis, tells GlobeSt.com's West Coast/South bureau chief Patricia L. Kirk that there are typically three reasons brokers move. Money certainly is one of them, whether it is upfront bonuses or a percentage of ownership in the firm. Then there is anger or loss of confidence in the people they're working with.

Most often, though, personal growth opportunities play a part in a broker's move. This is a powerful force if it's the only reason to move. It's undeniable when it's coupled with financial incentives.

Why--other than money--would people make a career shift? Some experts we talked with say it's a cyclical phenomenon. "People's thresholds differ," Ludeman says. "Some take stock of their careers every couple of years or every five to seven years. They may want to refocus their business."

Bruce Mosler, president of US operations for Cushman & Wakefield, agrees with the theory of occasional re-definition, and says it's a trait that grows in a slowdown. Job-hunting "absolutely runs in cycles," he tells national online editor John Salustri. "When the business goes through a flat period, they find themselves with more time on their hands to evaluate."

He questions the wisdom of making a move for money alone--and he questions it both for the company hiring and the person being hired. "There is a phenomenon going on in the marketplace," he reports, "where firms are willing to pay tremendous multiples on earnings for people to come over. That has not been our practice. Any people we have attracted have come to this firm for the transaction platform. We won't pay a multiple we cannot return to the bottom line."

But Philip W. Palmer, senior vice president of Northbrook, IL-based Grubb & Ellis' office services group says such carrots aren't dangled for everybody. "Those companies that are determined to build market share are willing to buy talent," Palmer says, "but they're taking a rifle approach rather than a shotgun approach."

Be that as it may, there is even some question as to how attractive those signing bonuses truly are. While such incentives sound like a pile of extra cash for the lucky broker, it often merely compensates them for the bonus they would have received had they stayed put, says Rick Gillham of Dallas-based headhunting firm Gillham, Golbeck & Associates. Nevertheless, those bonuses are often hefty. West Coast bonuses could easily reach into the mid-six digits for senior level executives while $40,000 to $60,000 bonuses go to junior executives.In terms of the person taking a job because of an economic package, the allegiance should be questioned, says Mosler: "When their contract is up, they're out again."

Thee experts agree that the wisest moves are made for more than money. Rick Gillham tells GlobeSt.com Southwest bureau chief Connie Gore that, "there is a long list that should come into play before money does." The need for more responsibility, a growing sense of boredom or a philosophical difference with a new supervisor or a corporate merger are all on the list.

Corporate culture issues also play a part, reports Southeast bureau chief Alex Finkelstein. "Brokers are making their choices and placing their bets" on which companies are best for them, says Woody Coley, managing director of global services for Trammell Crow Co. "And there is nothing really wrong with that at all." Boutique firms "do well," he adds.

But that isn't always enough, Coley says. "Some brokers like to be part of a full-service company operation while others like it the way it was," presumably when life as a commercial real estate broker was simpler. The switch then, becomes a part of focusing once again on the basics--finding a client a 25,000-sf building in 60 days. "That's a simple, one-off transaction and there is nothing wrong with it," Coley says.

No doubt, there is a lot of window-shopping taking place in the market right now. Gillham's firm has seen a 20% to 25% increase in the number of candidates knocking on his doors in the past six to eight months, Connie Gore reports. But the number of actual, large-scale defections are not as high as they may seem. Despite the increase in potential job-hoppers, Gillham doesn't see a trend yet.

"The high-profile moves in this market are so individualized that I really wouldn't attach a trend to it," Gillham says.

Likewise, Philip Palmer doesn't see much of a trend in the Chicago market. "There's been a couple of noteworthy transitions, but I wouldn't say I'm seeing wholesale migration," he says. Trammell Crow Co. manager of marketing services David Shumaker says his firm hasn't been afraid to dangle carrots to get brokers to move into its Downtown and Oakbrook Terrace offices, but he reports the firm's ranks remain "pretty stable."

If the job-hunt is cyclical is indeed tied at least in part to this apparently a short and shallow slowdown--then, like Trammell Crow, the industry as a whole may remain pretty stable and we should see a near-term end to the current spate of big-name corporate defections.