"We have 13 agents now and we would like to double that," Keenasays. Some of the new agents will be in Irvine, but most will be inLos Angeles and the Inland Empire. "We will be looking to addsenior agents with leasing and sales experience to really go outand bolster the third-party management and leasing," Keenasays.

Both Keena and Jack Carroll, president of SVN Asset Management& Leasing, tell GlobeSt.com that the company sees a chance totake advantage of changing market conditions throughout thecommercial real estate industry as well as the growth that hasoccurred in the Inland Empire in recent years. As Carroll explains,"We believe that in a real estate market that is softening,property management and leasing are going to become more valuableto owners."

Carroll explains that the rising values and generally good timesthat have blessed the real estate market in recent years haveenabled virtually all owners to do well, regardless of whether theypaid attention to management and leasing. "When markets startgetting soft, as they are with the subprime debacle that has leakedinto commercial real estate, two components that become morevaluable to owners are savvy leasing brokers and savvy propertymanagement," he observes.