Category — SVN Updates

For many years, we at SVN have issued our annual Top Markets to Watch report.  Segmented by product type, the report seeks not to dissuade investors from targeting markets omitted from the report, but rather to highlight those markets which we believe to be positively influenced by emerging trends.  Included in the third issue of our The Advisor magazine, it is our hope that you extract actionable insights from the report’s rich content, regardless of your position in the industry. A brief synopsis is as follows:

Today’s post won’t be long, but I think perhaps brevity is well suited for the message. It was Shakespeare who said “brevity is the wit of soul.” – I tend to concur. While today’s message is specifically directed at our Advisors, I hope others that read it will take away positive, actionable insights as well.

As a storied 2010 comes to a close, I thought it a good time to offer my observations on the 12 months past, and to present my outlook for the economy and the commercial real estate market for the year ahead. Before I do, however, I would be remiss if I did not thank the Sperry Van Ness clients, Advisors, staff, and fellow brokers for their contributions to our strong year. I know that I speak for all SVN Advisors and staff when I wish you a safe holiday season and a prosperous New Year.

A Strong Close to 2010

Following two years of unprecedented upheaval, commercial real estate market conditions have improved markedly over the course of 2010. In the final days of December, Real Capital Analytics reports that the rush to bring deals to closing has pushed national transaction volume for the year past the $100 billion milestone, roughly doubling the market’s tally for 2009. This improvement in property sales reflects investor confidence in the long-term prospects for our industry as well as improvements, though sometimes modest, in supporting measures of economic and job market activity.

Social Media and Commercial Real Estate – while some say the two don’t mix, I say they’re flat wrong. I’ve been evangelizing the innovative use of technology and digital media in commercial real estate on this blog since day one. While I normally don’t use this forum to tout the company, I’m making an exception for this post.

My question today is a simple one: What’s your vision for the future and what are you doing about it? Much has been written about surviving the downturn – what to do now, the “new normal” and other tips for how to navigate current market conditions. And while I certainly have no gripes about being in the moment from a tactical perspective, I’m concerned that as an industry we don’t lose sight of the value of looking forward. In today’s post I’ll share my thoughts on the importance of looking forward.

While I don’t normally share specific company performance information in this venue, I thought many of you might enjoy the opportunity to learn more about the company I lead.  The above video highlights some of my comments from the recent Sperry Van Ness State of the Company address. Those of you familiar with, or who have interest in the commercial real estate industry will find our company performance over the last year to be nothing short of remarkable.  I’m truly honored to lead such a wonderful and talented group of Advisors, whose differentiated, “Client’s Interests First,” operating philosophy has created amazing benefits for our clients and for the Sperry Van Ness brand. I would invite you to read a press release further describing our plans for the future. Given the recent market dislocation, and the current commercial real estate industry landscape, a focus on growth, driven by smart and creative acquisitions, is an initiative that we feel will yield strong returns for all of our constituencies.

As 2009 draws to a close I thought this an appropriate time to not only sum up my thoughts on what has been a tough year, but also to share my feelings on what I believe will be a better 2010. I would also be remiss if I didn’t use this opportunity to thank our stakeholders for their continued support, without which, we would not have fared as well as we did. The contributions of our clients, employees, investors and partners have been truly remarkable, and I can’t imagine having to navigate 2009 without their steadfast commitment to the Sperry Van Ness brand. Please accept my wishes for a very happy and safe Holiday Season as well as a prosperous New Year.

I am passionate about learning…In fact so much so, that I believe that staying ahead of the learning curve is what keeps you relevant, interesting, engaging, and a few steps ahead of the competition. Show me a person or an organization that doesn’t embrace learning, and I’ll guarantee you that the only thing they excel at is failure. It is continued personal and professional development that allows people and organizations to maintain relevancy. You simply cannot adopt a static approach to a fluid market and expect to succeed…it won’t work. A focus on learning not only prevents static thinking, but it fosters innovation. Perhaps most importantly, learning and development form the core of any successful talent management strategy. In today’s post I’ll examine the link between learning and relevance.

Let’s face it, businesses can pump-out a mind-numbing volume of corporate propaganda. But if you’re anything like me, I’ve found words are often of little consequence. As the CEO of a large enterprise, I tend to pay much more attention to the follow through on the statements made…it’s the actions behind the words that are important to me. While I find that much is written and said on the topic of accountability and transparency, I also find that few organizations put tangible practices into play to support the plethora of rhetoric and management speak currently in circulation.

Welcome to the MaggiacomoBlog – I know, I know, another blog??? And why now Kevin…aren’t you a little late to this social media thing? These are fair questions to be sure, and I’ll do my best to answer them in the text that follows. But before I go any further, I want to introduce myself to those of you not familiar with my background. I am currently the President and CEO of Sperry Van Ness International, the 12th largest commercial real estate brokerage firm in the world with more than 950  advisors in 3 countries, 38 states and 153 markets and having completed more than 39 billion dollars in sales volume on 12,000 commercial real estate transactions in the last 4 years. I worked my way up the food chain at SVN, joining the firm on September 11^th 2001 to help facilitate our national expansion. I later served as VP of our franchise business, EVP of SVNI, and COO before being appointed President last year. Prior to my time at SVN I, I served as an advisor for RTE Group, a telecommunications real estate advisory firm, spent two years facilitating business development for Costar Group, and began my real estate career in 1995 at CRESA Partners, Boston.  Enough about me….