I attended the DisruptCRE conference in New York last week and came away with an initial thought… “I am in a room full of people that are trying to destroy my industry.” I went back to my office the next day proselytizing about what I saw and was roundly dismissed by most everyone I spoke with.
But the facts are that companies like Compstak, VTS, LiquidSpace, and others are all allowing office space users to think about the real estate process from a completely new perspective. Information about available space is freely accessible, deal terms are more public than ever, and access to those spaces has become easier.
The traditional role of a broker was to provide access to information. But that role is changing to become more consultative. Brokers need to help clients think about how they use space to be more productive while also cutting costs. That means being part architect, part consultant, and part attorney.
Senior executives have already started demanding that brokers evolving into this new model. They know that brokers are on the front lines and see what works, what doesn’t and how best practices for space design and process can be deployed. They are no longer interested in expediting a deal that can’t be justified either from a usage or cost perspective.
samuelhorowitz.com 