Neal Foster of Foster & Associates in Winston-Salem, NC is the contest leader to date. He brokered a 25,000-sf lease at Republic Square in Winston Salem. Parthenon president Drew Cunningham calls the contest "one of the largest real estate sales incentive programs in recent industry history." He says "real estate is a competitive business, and this contest has really stirred the competitive juices of brokers in all our markets."

Besides the $150,000 in cash prizes, Parthenon is also awarding a three-year Lexus SC convertible auto lease, a new Sea-Doo GTX 4-TEC Limited Supercharged Watercraft, and travel and electronics certificates. As a cash bonus for new, qualifying leases, the brokerage is paying $1 per sf in addition to normal commissions based on the length and value of individual leases.

Cunningham calls the contest "meaningful to the brokerage community, because they (the brokers) help improve value at Parthenon properties." Competition is stiffest in South Florida where 39 brokers are qualified to win local and national prizes. Atlanta and Austin are tied for a close second with 29 brokers competing. Brokers in Greenville, SC and Nashville, TN have the best chance to win one of three local prizes for travel or electronics, Cunningham says.

Besides Foster, other contest leaders are Ann Buffington, who brokered a 7,200-sf lease at Meadowview Crossing in Greensboro, NC; John Jaspert of CB Richard Ellis Inc. in South Florida, in third place; and Atlanta brokers Matt Olsen of Chastain Commercial and Paul Coutu of Crown Properties.