It certainly doesn’t seem like it’s been 3 ½ years since our current ownership group purchased the company. A great deal has happened. The growth and success we’ve experienced over that period of time is because of the great people we work with.
When we began this process we spent a lot of time thinking about: Why we do what we do?
The purpose of this story is to answer that question.
A client will only benefit from a company that offers a full suite of services when each department provides an exceptional level of service.
I value a place of business that can offer me that exceptional one-stop shopping experience. I believe we at ICR have that to offer.
We have just completed a series of meetings which focussed on the review of our corporate vision and mission statements. One of the elements discussed which is absolutely central to our company vision is trust.
It is irrelevant how good we say, or believe we are, without a high level of trust embedded within our culture as well as the trust of our clients we simply cannot achieve our corporate mission(s).
My business philosophy since entering the real estate industry has been to know my competitors well and be sure I am working within the best organization.
It must be an organization that will allow me to provide a high level of service to my clients and provide a culture for me to thrive as a Broker. In keeping with that philosophy, we have recently announced a strategic partnership with one of the world’s largest commercial real estate brokers.
Who is JLL and why the change?
Accountability is defined as the fact or condition of being accountable; therefore, responsible. I think it’s a word that is thrown around without much consideration for the consequence of the potential expectation created.
In an earlier, January 2015 blog post I discussed the Employee Purchase of ICR. Nineteen months have passed since that announcement; let’s try and take an objective look at the pros and cons of this method of selling a business.
I believe in both our personal and work lives, where change is involved, it is beneficial to stop and take note of what worked, and what kind of challenges we encountered along the way.
The commercial real estate industry has traditionally trained new sales and leasing agents through mentorship programs. That has been the case at ICR Commercial Real Estate. On average it will take four years for a new agent to develop a comprehensive set of skills.
When I started in the real estate industry, a single exterior photo was the standard for use on listing information packages. As a matter of fact, back then the use of black and white pictures was not uncommon. Within a few years many brokers started using wide angle lens to produce multiple interior and exterior photos.
As the internet evolved, we saw change in almost every area of our commercial real estate industry. The ability to seamlessly post a high quality video link to websites, email blasts and promote them through social media has resulted in much higher market penetration for our listings. Drone technology has now thrust us into the next generation of high definition video.
Over the years I have had many people make the statement “I could never be a salesperson.” When I question them it becomes clear to me they are coming from a place which provides for a very narrow definition of the word.
In short, it means that you are being represented by a commercial real estate brokerage made up of a team that trusts each other. Some believe a team is a group of people who simply work together. Unless trust is present within that group, you do not have a team. Let me explain what is meant by “no door” policy.
This is not a topic we tend to talk a lot about so I thought it was important to reveal to you here how we really think. We eat, breath and sleep commercial real estate. In order to be successful in this business I need to believe sincerely in the benefits and rewards of investing in commercial real estate. This is one area that we do not fully practice what we preach.
This is a great day for ICR, its employees and agents. It’s also a great day for Saskatchewan and the owners and tenants in the real estate industry. We are pleased to announce a new partnership. ICR developed over its 22 year history a unique operating model for a Commercial Real estate company. The company operates in a world of multi-nationals and competes at the top level in the Real Estate Arena.
I may be stating the obvious to many of you however it is surprising how often the following words are misused. Here are three things I am not:
Scary commercial real estate stories to you could be finding out a deal has crashed on the day it’s supposed to close or going back to the days of 10% commercial mortgage rates!
Here are real life events that happened to me which I thought would be appropriate to share as we approach this spooky time of year. Two stories that sent chills down my spine!
We have clients requesting commercial real estate advice on a daily basis. It is also necessary to make personal investment decisions to achieve our own long term financial goals. Here are three examples that come to mind where I was found to be “off the mark!”
Vacancy rates are relatively stable and absorption continues to be positive in Saskatoon’s leasing markets. ICR has recently completed a yearend wrap which includes a forward look into 2014 for our office, retail and industrial sectors.
There has been a distinct move to suburban office demand with 126,100 sq.ft absorbed in 2013. Vacancy in downtown Class A increased dramatically as several larger tenants moved out of the core, leaving an overall downtown vacancy rate of 4.83% up from 3.53% at the end of 2012.
It was a great year for both sale and lease transactions as Stuart Commercial achieved a best ever year to date. We came in a tight second place overall for the province in 2013 sales for ICR agents. Our number of transactions totaled a new high of deals in total.
Although we saw an increase in the the total volume of deals, the average amount per transaction was down. This was indicative of the industry this year. While the Saskatchewan economy continues to hum along, there were not as many large lease and sale transactions.
With momentum and continued enthusiasm, we are looking forward to what 2014 will hold for the Saskatchewan market.
Posted by Barry Stuart
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