Sperry Expands Multifamily, Adds Services

SVN Real Estate Services operates seven office, including six in Southern California and one in Phoenix, that formerly operated as corporate offices of Sperry Van Ness but now operate as a division of Portland, OR-based Guardian Real Estate Services LLC after Guardian's acquisition of the offices earlier this year. Osbrink explains that the hiring of Kennedy, a former SVN adviser who left the company four years ago to start his own firm, is part of an overall expansion plan for Irvine-based SVN Real Estate Services.

[IMGCAP(2)]"The strategy that we are working on is to continue to build our core capabilities, which are multifamily and retail sales, because Sperry has always had a great niche there, and in addition to bring on some more leasing capability in retail, office and in industrial," Osbrink says. He tells GlobeSt.com that although the company already has considerable leasing talent, especially in Southern California, it believes additional leasing capabilities will be important because, "as we move into the next market, where properties are going to be changing hands, that leasing component is going to be important to owners and potential new owners."

Osbrink says that Kennedy is one of a number of seasoned brokers who have shown renewed interest in Sperry Van Ness since the restructuring in which the company sold the corporate offices to Guardian. "If you are confident in your platform and your vision, as we are, it's a good time to recruit," Osbrink observes. "With all of the confusion about the general state of the economy, people tend to think that if conditions are going to be changing, maybe they should take a look at where they are and whether they should consider new opportunities." SVN managing director Damon Wyler, who oversees the region's advisers and is responsible for the growth of the Irvine office, notes that Kennedy "has consistently been one of the region's premier multifamily investment brokers," with more than $1 billion in transactions in his 10 years in the industry.

Adding new advisers is one of a number of initiatives under way at SVN Real Estate Services. The organization is planning to add multifamily property management to its list of capabilities via Guardian Management, which has a very strong presence in the Pacific Northwest, and it is also working to improve "what is already a very good technology platform," Osbrink says.

The company's brokerage platform is "the most cooperative I've ever seen," according to Osbrink. "Every listing is exposed to every broker in the industry and not just held here," he says. "That kind of culture is unique."

Sperry Van Ness Real Estate Services totals approximately 190 advisers and holds development and franchise rights for Sperry Van Ness in Southern California, Arizona and Oregon. It is part of an overall Sperry Van Ness organization, founded in 1987, that totals approximately 1000 advisers in more than 150 locations throughout the US.