In any uncertain economic climate, it pays to go the extra mile, and that is precisely what Boston’s commercial real estate brokers are doing these days, both literally and figuratively.

With local activity suddenly cut to a fraction of what it was during the unprecedented 2000 campaign, industry professionals are finding ways to tread the lean times. That could mean exploring other regions, while others are staying put but expanding their menu of services. Contrasting last year’s emphasis on completing deals as quickly as possible, brokers are increasingly valued for their analytical skills and ability to provide meaningful research on where the real estate sector may be headed.

I think you are much more of an advisor today, Meredith & Grew principal Ronald Perry said last week. It has become a matter of educating the tenants and the landlords on the fundamentals of what is really going on with the market.

Real estate brokers are well-positioned to provide such advice, according to Cresa Partners principal Joseph Sciolla. Because brokers have day-to-day contact with company executives, they can often get indications early on when conditions are about to change, he said, recognizing when demand for new space is on the rise or is beginning to ebb.

We see it six months before anybody else, said Sciolla, whose firm is especially tuned in given that it exclusively represents tenants. Indeed, Sciolla was among the first to predict the current economic slide with a disconcerting forecast issued in the autumn of 2000.

Sciolla agreed that Cresa’s role has evolved in response to market changes, with the firm now concentrating on three main areas. In addition to providing clients with strategic long-term planning expertise, Cresa is also being asked to reevaluate existing corporate properties to see whether they can be made more efficient. A third, more ubiquitous duty has Cresa helping companies dispose of unwanted space.

That’s where a lot of brokers are spending their time right now, said Sciolla, adding it is not the easiest feat to accomplish. He estimated there is a 10-to-1 ratio of sublease inventory to company requirements for new space.

The rise in vacancy rates has certainly changed the office market’s equation, said CB Richard Ellis/Whittier Partners principal Christopher Tosti, explaining that the tenant was more likely to seek out a broker’s advice in 2000 given the scarcity of leasing options. This year, we’re needed more by the landlords, said Tosti. They want to make sure they are seeing every deal that’s out there.

Although he considers it a return to more normal market conditions, Tosti added that brokers have to work considerably harder to see a deal through to completion this year, with tenants often reluctant to sign a lease due to a combination of the economic uneasiness and the prospect that rents might continue to erode. Tosti stressed that brokers are happy to have the business regardless of the challenges, however, especially when they are representing a good credit tenant that will draw the ardor of the landlord population.

Interestingly, CB/Whittier has actually been hiring staff in the past few months. Tosti said his company believes it is more important than ever to provide its brokers with a strong network of support, thereby allowing them to get into the marketplace to better address a client’s needs.

It has always been a pretty simple business, Tosti said. You’ve got to be on the street, networking and cold-calling as much as you can, and you can’t be doing that if you’re sitting back at your desk writing out a report.

Aggressive Approach
Cushman & Wakefield principal Thomas Collins said he also thinks brokers are taking an aggressive approach, attending industry functions to cull information from colleagues and pounding the pavement to generate business. Brokers are just working a lot harder, said Collins, although he added that demand is so sluggish that it may lead to some Hub brokers being laid off or leaving the industry on their own.

Collins also reports that landlords are becoming more proactive in trying to get leases inked. Some property owners are holding open houses with cash prizes and other incentives for brokers who show up, while others are offering straight bonuses whenever there is a tenant showing. Although there have yet to be the same volume of perks seen in the early 1990s, when free trips, golf clubs and the like were constantly being offered, there has been an increase in commissions provided to brokers upon a lease completion.

Tenants make the world go round in our business, and when they are scarce, landlords will pay more for them, said Tosti. It’s always something you’ll see in a market like this.

Bay State brokers are also starting to branch out to other parts of the country, although most observers spoken to suggested there are a variety of factors driving that trend. Although the lack of activity locally is one reason, Tosti noted that things are slow everywhere, making it difficult for a broker to bump up production simply by appearing in another city.

Perry said some of his downtown Boston clients are seeking advice on whether to establish satellite facilities as a defensive move against the September 11th terrorist attacks. Cresa’s breadth as a member of the Cresa Partners national network has given the firm the ability to service Boston clients needing quarters in other regions, said Sciolla.

The same is true for CB/Whittier. Tosti traveled extensively last week on behalf of Boston companies needing space elsewhere, making trips to such markets as Miami, Washington, D.C., Chicago and Indiana.

In times like these, our national platform gives us the ability to diversify, said Tosti. We can do deals around the country instead of just focusing on one market.

The same is true at Richards Barry Joyce & Partners, the new Boston real estate services company founded in June. According to principal John Barry, brokers at the firm are busy servicing clients in a number of regions. Barry, for example, is handling a 70,000-square-foot requirement for a local company that needs to be in North Carolina’s Raleigh-Durham market. RBJ&P partner Michael Frisoli has been busy on a deal in central New Jersey, while colleague Steven Purpura has been active in Kentucky.

It doesn’t end there, either. Along with other assignments in such markets as New Orleans and Seattle, RBJ&P is also doing substantial overseas business, said principal Robert B. Richards, with current work in both Amsterdam and Frankfurt. Richards said the bulk of the activity is on behalf of Boston clients with properties or requirements outside the Bay State. A brokerage house needn’t even be attached to a national company or one of the many network gruops which have cropped up in the past few years, he said, maintaining that RBJ&P’s status as a free agent is a preferred situation because they are not limited in who they opt to partner with on a deal.

It keeps us very smart and nimble, Richards said of that approach. If we can work with the best in every market, that keeps us ahead of the curve.