How does company size impact the quality of product or service you are getting? It depends on the industry. As consumers, we often find that the size of a company determines our ability to get the best value. Large companies, like Amazon, have more access to capital than smaller companies and therefore can offer better discounts. For consumer products, it’s reasonable to say that the size of the company is correlated with your ability to get the best price. For B2B services, like Commercial Real Estate, the quality of product and service you receive isn’t necessarily correlated with company size. Below we’ll dive into why company size shouldn’t determine who represents your real estate interests, and what factors should be considered instead.
For Commercial Real Estate, size does not determine access to properties and market data. This is the primary reason a bigger company doesn’t necessarily mean better value. Every broker in the industry, from a two-person shop to the giant companies downtown, use Costar. Costar is a commercial real estate database that gives brokers access to every commercial property in every submarket, in depth market data, etc. The residential equivalent is MLS. You should do your due diligence and ask any broker the platform they use. You may hear LoopNet - this is a well-known platform that was acquired by CoStar. It’s important to note that in order to sign up for CoStar you need to be a licensed broker. If someone you are speaking with doesn’t have access to CoStar, this should be a red flag. In addition to market data, CoStar also has a great marketing platform to get eyes on client’s sublease space(s). Financial data available through the platform helps all brokers break down the deal for the clients and negotiate to get a competitive rate. So, market data, marketing capabilities and financial data are the same for any broker that uses Costar.
As a small firm, whenever we’ve been asked about our access to properties, it causes me to pause. How could we tell our clients that we will represent their best interests, if we didn’t have the same access? We couldn’t and we wouldn’t, the playing field remains level. What does matter is trust with your broker or team of brokers, good communication, and a proven ability to fight for your best needs as the client. Good questions to ask a broker you are considering are: can you give me an example of a company like ours you’ve worked with? How do you fight for your clients’ best interests? What examples can you provide? Understanding a broker’s past relationships and achievements is the best way to predict their future success.
If real estate is something on your company’s plate over the next 18 months, please reach out to our team to walk you through the process.
Visit our website at www.websterrealtyadvisors.com
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