CRE Success is Synonymous With Innovation.

SOUTHFIELD, MI-For owners, developers and property managers, the game is changing. Real estate used to be similar to a game of Risk, where the goal was simply to acquire more territory and build up more resources in strategic locations. While no one is foolish enough to suggest that the old mantra of “location, location, location” is going away any time soon, success in today's marketplace is increasingly about more than just where you are—it's about what you can offer.

It is about amenities, innovation, creativity, service and adaptation. Instead of Risk, it is more like chess: a game where planning ahead, staying flexible and edging out your competitors through a combination of anticipation and strategic sophistication.

Great properties, spaces and places are all still essential, but the competitive nature of the marketplace is such that the most successful real estate professionals are those who can carve out a defining advantage for themselves in ways that extend beyond site plans and square footage.

Whether you are investing, managing, or consulting, the new reality is that attracting quality tenants, strengthening your portfolio and delivering meaningful ROI for investors requires the ability to provide something different; something more. An "old school" mindset is unlikely to consistently deliver value to investors. As a result, today real estate success is virtually synonymous with innovation.

Become Adept at Adapting

Adaptability is becoming a key component in every real estate vertical today. Recognizing development trends and getting out ahead of the marketplace can pay enormous dividends. Whether it is understanding that mergers in the healthcare industry have led to hybrid situations in medical real estate, or appreciating the fact that many start-ups and small businesses do not want to deal with the logistical headaches of furnishing and building out their office space, those who can adapt to new realities will position themselves for success. Flexible and proactive real estate professionals have implemented creative solutions—fully-furnished spec suites for start-up businesses, facilities built, renovated or retrofitted to accommodate the specialized demands of medical office tenants—enabling them to appeal to a broader swath of potential tenants, to name a few.

Be Strategic

Leasing some of the most recognized buildings in the city of Detroit requires more than just trading off of the buildings' iconic stature. Recently completed renovations to the New Center One building's atrium created a collaborative open space with free WiFi and added an outdoor picnic area. Those are the kind of quality-of-life investments that are increasingly important when it comes to attracting small businesses and entrepreneurs that fill out a tenant roster. In a competitive marketplace, staying flexible by accommodating smaller tenants and start-ups can also pay off: these are the tenants that might start small, but they have the potential to grow and expand in your building.

Understand “Marketing”

One of the new realities of today's broader real estate marketplace is that inspiring success stories are cropping up in unexpected places. In the Midwest, the pattern reflects this larger national trend: there is predictably strong demand and impressive numbers in places like Chicago, but secondary markets such as Columbus and Milwaukee are also performing well. The key to experiencing success in markets and locations that others may pass up is to apply the same strategies that are being applied in larger markets: anticipation, adaptation and innovation. Real estate trends are being driven by innovative industry leaders, and recent successes in these markets demonstrate that real estate success stories can be found in a wide range of locations outside of the hottest and highest profile urban areas.

Get Creative

Whether it is a high-performing office building in the heart of Chicago, or an underperforming residential property in a challenging location, real estate developers and investors are finding new ways to give their property the edge they need to stand out from the crowd. Whether you are maximizing your potential and want to maintain your position in the market, or elevating the profile of your property in a way that figuratively stands out in a crowded skyline of competitors, creativity can be a tremendous asset. In today's commercial real estate marketplace, the "new normal" is to never get comfortable: think about offering what's next and consider providing your tenants with the amenities that they may not even think they want or need yet. In a personal example from my own experience, we recently became the first real estate company in the nation to implement a new up-and-coming laundry service that conveniently offers pickup and drop to mobile operated lockers.

Boost Your Appeal

The degree to which a forward-thinking posture matter in the real estate world is demonstrated by the increasing presence of international investors in the U.S. marketplace, and the subsequent pressure to deliver substantive and sustained ROI for those investors. While all real estate is local, this is a global marketplace, and not only are the difference-making details that can attract an investor more important than ever, but creating a flexible strategy is often critically important for getting deals done in the first place. The result is that today's industry leaders are largely those who have consistently been able to envision not just the next big thing, but the next, next big thing—and to plan and adapt accordingly to those ever-changing and always evolving market needs.

Andrew Farbman is CEO of Southfield, MI-based Farbman Group. The views expressed in this column are the author's own.