Supporting Market Data is Crucial for Tenants

SAN FRANCISCO—With today’s complex market, tenants must be well-versed on the intricacies of rates and other costs in order to make informed decisions. So says veteran tenant representation brokers Matt Chatham and Aaron Wright, who recently joined Cushman & Wakefield as executive managing directors, along with Hope Keaney, associate director.

All three professionals are based in the firm’s San Francisco office and will focus on servicing regional and national clients. Along with his brokerage role, Chatham will also serve as Cushman & Wakefield’s tenant rep lead for San Francisco. In this exclusive, he shared some insights into the current tenant rep climate, technology’s effect, growth opportunities and predictions for 2019.

GlobeSt.com: What is the most important advice you can give a tenant in the current market environment?

Chatham: Today more than ever, tenants need to be educated on the market. We are seeing all-time highs in rents across many submarkets in the Bay Area and record construction costs as well. Oftentimes, tenants are implementing long-term strategies on the lease or purchase of their facilities. Having an understanding of where we are exactly in the market is critical, but equally as important is having data that supports where the marketing is heading. With that being the case, the best advice I can give a tenant in this environment is take the time to get prepared on near term as well as long-term needs and also make sure your advisor is fully equipped and capable to provide you with the best strategy, negotiating tactics, and market data and analysis.

GlobeSt.com: How is technology impacting your business practice?

Chatham: A great deal. We are seeing new tools and resources emerge every day that impact how we analyze our markets and or service our clients. Our processes and transactions can move much more efficiently with the right technological advancements and platforms. Cushman & Wakefield is making a significant investment in progressive technologies which provide us a huge advantage in how we are able to advise our clients.

GlobeSt.com: Do you believe brokers can be trained?

Chatham: Absolutely, as long as they have that entrepreneurial spirit and a desire to learn and succeed, and are fully committed to working hard and putting in the time, often overtime, that it really takes to succeed in this challenging business. And that they care and are passionate about our great industry, and will always strive to do the right thing as a professional.

GlobeSt.com: Do you believe having a mentor is critical when starting in the brokerage business? If yes, did you have a mentor?

Chatham: Yes, a mentor is extremely important, especially when first entering the brokerage business. Our business can become very commoditized. Those who most often succeed usually have had the benefit of learning from another successful professional. Personally, I have had the benefit of some great mentors throughout my career. I can honestly say that any success I have had in this business directly correlates to what I’ve been able to learn from some of the best in our industry.

However, the key to any successful mentorship lies with the desire and willingness of the mentee to want to learn, get better and be an expert. Mentorship is a two-way street. And for those who do choose a career in brokerage, while they should be very proactive in seeking out the appropriate mentor that best matches their goals, they should also seek out multiple mentors in an effort to obtain different perspectives, experiences and importantly expertise.

GlobeSt.com: Where do you see the market going in 2019?

Chatham: It is an interesting time. The political headlines, equities market volatility, mixed earning reports and some course correction in forward-looking projections are definitely worth consideration. However, jobs are still being created, VC funds are still looking to invest heavily and many Bay Area companies are continuing their explosive growth. The first few months of 2019 should be very telling. If there are additional pauses and pullbacks in investment, I could see demand flattening. If many of the rumored pending deals are made, we may see another push in rents. The biggest pending data point for me is, will the millions of square feet that is pre-leased in new properties actually be occupied? That amount of square footage equates to tens of thousands of jobs that need to be filled. It will be interesting to see that storyline play out over the remainder of 2019 and into 2020 as those projects complete construction and those large leases commence.

GlobeSt.com: How do you plan to grow the tenant rep practice for C&W?

Chatham: I think the key for us to further grow our market share is to appropriately leverage that experience while also continuing to access the resources and experts that exists across our full-service company. Ensuring our team is using those tools and bringing in the appropriate expertise, whether regionally or even globally, will be an important driver to our growth. The company also continues to invest in recruitment. That will continue, but we won’t approach that effort just to increase headcount. We are focused on selecting the right strategic and additive candidates that fit in well with our group, culture and business plans.