Property Managers Step Up as Investors Expand Throughout the West

Colliers International has promoted Kevin Rude to regional managing director for the West Coast in the firm’s real estate management services division in Southern California. The new position is an expanded role for Rude, who will focus on supporting clients with growing portfolios along the West Coast or who are entering new West Coast markets. The position oversees California, Washington, Oregon, Nevada and Arizona.

“We are already in all of these markets, and we have regional market leaders in each of those markets,” Rude tells GlobeSt.com. “We are really focused on trying to enhance connectivity from multiple client sources and drive our service excellence from a property management perspective throughout the West. We determined that there are a lot of synergies between these markets, and we have a lot of crossover from owners and asset managers that work in multiple markets. We are making sure that our service lines are consistent throughout the offices.”

Property management has evolved not only alongside the explosion of West Coast secondary markets—like Seattle, Portland and Phoenix—but also alongside changing uses and needs in commercial property types. “You are starting to see different uses, like medical in retail, which we have never seen before,” says Rude. “In office, you are starting to see creative office components coming into play in areas that you would never have expected. I think it is ever evolving.”

As retail and office properties have become more experiential, property management needs have also changed, and Rude will focus on serving the expanded needs of owners. On one hand, owners are looking for ways to partner with property managers to drive value at the property level. “I have gone through a number of cycles, and it seems like we have moved from the more-with-less model to a more value-add approach,” says Rude. In other ways, property managers have taken on an asset management role. “Our industry has morphed into what was once considered the asset management role,” says Rude. “As firms have eliminated some positions, that has trickled down to us on the property management level.”

Despite the expansive changes in commercial assets this cycle, some owners have been slow to recognize the increased value of property management programs. “Some firms do understand and value the property management task. Others might not,” says Rude. “It is still considered a commodity, and the fees have gotten compressed. There really is a fairly large delta in the groups that we work with.”

For that reason, one of Rude’s focuses will be to translate the firm’s value proposition and partner with the right clients. “Our key component is really showing the value proposition so that owners are seeing the benefit and that it isn’t just a commodity,” he says. “We try to partner with clients who see that property management is really vital in the success of the asset.”