Attracting and Keeping Commercial Real Estate Clients BY LEE NELSON
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ric Anderson is experiencing no shortage of buyers for commercial properties during the pandemic. However, finding the right property for the right price in the right location remains an issue. “All kinds of repurposing of buildings are happening,” said Anderson, CEO of Alexander-Anderson Real Estate Group in Hackensack. “Go into the ownership with your ideas. You build reference in your areas and become the one with knowledge and networks.” Pandemic or not, commercial real estate is “still all about networking,” said Anderson.
Keeping clients interested and keeping your name at the top of their list continue to be important steps for commercial Realtors® no matter what the market is doing. Clients want Realtors® they trust, can talk to, can advise them, who know their markets and nearby ones, and who can listen to their needs. According to the National Association of Realtors ® 2020 Commercial Specialty Report, only 2 percent of members in New Jersey specialize primarily in commercial real estate. For those with both commercial and residential specialties, it measures less than 1 percent.
That leaves a lot of opportunity for someone to make their mark.
What’s Happening in New Jersey with Commercial Real Estate Anderson’s company represents the owners of a 1930 bank with 30-foot ceilings. “Right now, all interested parties are scared to commit. 10 people in the past would have wanted the building,” says Anderson. Things definitely are slightly different as COVID-19 problems continue—he sees larger, standalone restaurants having a tough time being sold. “However, people are looking for office buildings and smaller mixed-use products. It all depends on the area,” says Anderson. Back when the mortgage crisis began in 2007, companies leasing space and building owners were turned upside down, says Michael Witko, Jr., founding member/broker of record at Chilmark Real Estate Services, LLC, in Morristown. “During that time, the commercial real estate industry just kind of limped along,” said Witko. NEW JERSEY REALTOR® | March/April 2021 | 25
