"Too big to fail!" "Been around too long!" "Too entrenched in the market!" Where have we heard these terms before? The commercial real estate brokerage industry is in for a drastic change in 2010!

Commercial real estate brokerage companies have been consolidating for years, at the upper size range, right on through to mid-level and small firms. The last ten years have seen large national brokerage companies swallow-up established brands. Some of those include "include CBRE's acquisitions of Insignia/ESG, Trammell Crow, and others, and JLL's acquisition of The Staubach Company and others. One recent notable acquisition saw FirstService acquire certain GVA affiliated offices. Others are in the making.

Despite those strategic acquisitions, the current economic crisis appears to be accelerating change in the commercial real estate brokerage industry. Some small and mid-sized companies are failing. Some of them are closing their doors and others are being acquired, with their brokers moving to larger companies one way or the other.

The rumors have again begun to swirl about some of the largest commercial real estate brokerage companies in the nation being in irreparable financial distress. Those companies that have been around forever, that until recently have been considered too big and too entrenched in the national market to fail may, in fact, close their doors and / or be absorbed into larger more stable motherships.

One of the largest and most prominent internationally known brokerage companies, one which once was the gold standard in commercial real estate brokerage, is rumored to be imploding from within. It has been suggested that this particular company may have only months before its current life support systems are terminated. Another equally well-known industry behemoth came close last year to defaulting on its debt, which ranged in the hundreds of millions of dollars. There's more to come! 2010 promises to be an interesting year in the commercial real estate brokerage business.

The world has changed. It always does. Sometimes faster than others. And now, the commercial real estate brokerage industry, a business that has remained relatively static for many years, is changing, too.

Will this change be good for the commercial real estate industry? How will this inevitable evolution affect commercial tenants, buyers, landlords, and investors? Will it prove positive? How will individual brokers and their companies (old and new) maintain continuity of service and properly protect their clients? Some have suggested that the big commercial brokerage companies could become too big to be effective in serving all but the very largest of companies...will that be the case? How will these changes affect those of us who will still be standing?

What do you think?

Instant Insights /

The Imploding Commercial Real Estate Brokerage Industry in 2010

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