In the years since the market crash in 2008, a growing number of residential brokers have switched sides, and are now handling commercial deals, the New York Times reported. Although the market has improved since the crash, residential brokers are still seeking ways to enhance revenue flow. At the same time, many foreign purchasers, who do not see a difference between residential and commercial brokers, are giving them business.
“If [foreign buyers] want to do a commercial deal,” Robert Knakal, chairman and founding partner of Massey Knakal, told the Times, “they will often choose to go with the same broker who sold them their apartment.”
There are still challenges. As The Real Deal reported last month, the office leasing market remains slow, but rents in Midtown South are surging.
However, there is a bit of a learning curve for brokers on the residential side crossing over into the land of commercial transactions, with engineering and environmental studies, as well as J-51 tax abatement details factoring into the equation. [NYT] — Zachary Kussin