MIAMI-As part of an effort to offers its real estate services to midsize companies seeking office space, the local Transwestern office brokered seven leases within Miami-Dade County during the fourth quarter of 2008. The leases, which add up to 57,251 square feet, were all closed by Rashid Siahpoosh, vice president, who believes the need for brokerage services by midsize companies is being overlooked.

Oftentimes midsize or smaller companies don't realize that they have a need for brokerage services because they feel they can handle their lease transactions themselves or with the help of their lawyers, Siahpoosh tells GlobeSt.com. "By providing strategic insight into market conditions facing tenants seeking midsize office square footage, businesses are better able to leverage their options to meet current and future space needs while improving operational efficiency and overall economics," he adds, explaining that Transwestern is now targeting those businesses in a time when it is crucial to understand how a lease can help or hurt a company.

Many of the recent transactions completed by Transwestern include long-term lease renewals for midsize companies, including American Medical Response, which signed a lease renewal for 19,297 square feet of flex space at Airport Corporate Center. Farelogix Inc. signed an 8,222-square-foot long-term lease renewal at Lennar Corporate Center in Doral. Leases ranging from 4,000 to 8,000 square feet along Brickell Avenue were also signed by Banco Industrial de Venezuela, the Consulate of Peru, Stack Fernandez Anderson & Harris PA and Krinzman Huss & Lubetsky LLP, while Life Asset Group signed a long-term lease renewal for 4,100 square feet of office space at 601 Brickell Key.

Despite the fact that many companies are holding off making long-term decisions in an uncertain market, the midsize companies signed by Transwestern almost all agreed to long-term leases totaling more than five years. "Many of them could make that decision because of the internal drivers of the individual companies versus macroeconomic factors," says Siahpoosh. Landlords in the Miami CBD are especially pushing for longer terms to stabilize their assets before the new influx of office inventory is delivered there, he says.