March 18, 2013

Q4 2012 Market Brief with Victor Calanog


Video by Reis

Chief economist Victor Calanog PhD provides a year-end review for CRE and gives a broad picture of the overall health and direction of the economy. 2012 saw restrained progress, with GDP growth up by about 2%. We also created on average of 180K jobs per month (up from an average of 172K jobs per month in 2011). Some things to note for 2013 would be the lower likelihood of a double dip recession, but the potential risk in increased supply growth for apartments. More from ReisReports: reisreports.com

March 14, 2013

Get to know the #iTechLounge Speakers: Patrick Braswell, Ten Eight

Patrick Braswell is the Co-Founder of Ten Eight (teneightapp.com) the first ever virtual and interactive tour booklet app that allows brokers and their clients the ability to store floor plans and flyers, rate commercial properties, take pictures, take notes, and evaluate building options side by side., Former Principal of Scotland Wright Associates (scotlandwright.com) a full service commercial real estate brokerage firm based in Atlanta that exclusively represents Tenants with their office and industrial needs, and Founder of MOSatlanta.com a website that produces 5 – 7 closed office deals a year from internet leads.

Over the next 5 years I truly believe that 100% of the brokers day to day workflow will be available on their mobile devices.  Right now most brokers can access emails, prospect / client contact information and building information via a mobile devices, but usually not deal information or tour books.  However, in 5 years enough commercial real estate technology companies will have produce tools specific to brokers and managing their deals that all of their workflow will be accessible via their mobile device.

LinkedIn is by far the best tool for brokers when it comes to prospecting.  Over my 10 years as a broker I’ve learned the very important lesson that a relationship is everything is commercial real estate.  With that, over the last 2.5 years that I was a broker I focused my prospecting efforts through LinkedIn vs. cold calling with great success.  Over that time span 80% of my new deals came from a relationship that was developed through LinkedIn.  Most brokers are on LinkedIn, but few actually do searches for companies on LinkedIn.  Try it.  See how you’re connected to C-Level individuals within a company and reach out to those mutual contacts to connect.  It works.

My favorite mobile app is Ten Eight, but that is because I’m the CEO of the company.  So, in an effort to be PC, I’d say the next best mobile app for CRE brokers would be Solve360.  It is a CRM that I’ve used for brokerage for 2.5 years and I love their mobile website.  The biggest advantage to the app is its deal rooms that allow me to access important docs of deals in progress.  So, at any time I can pull up a RFP, LOI, or Lease Document.  It also allows my client to do the same on their mobile devices.  Great software.

At my session, I’ll discuss the various mobile tour book apps available to brokers.  I’ll mostly be discussing Ten Eight and its features because it is the only true CRE tour book app that exists today.  However, I will also share alternatives that can act as a tour book app as well.

Email:  Patrick@teneightapp.com or Twitter Handle: @PatrickBraswell

March 8, 2013

Jones Lang LaSalle Launches First Social Media Campaign

Every Skyline has its own special story to share, and who better to tell the story than the people living there!
 
Jones Lang LaSalle has officially launched its first social media campaign, titled, “Show JLL Your Skyline” as part of its prestigious 2013 Skyline Review. The Skyline Review takes a deep dive into the commercial real estate markets of 34 cities throughout the nation, capturing trends in supply, demand, pricing, investment and demographics — but the JLL team is looking to tell your city’s story through a picture. We want to see if the saying, “A picture tells a thousand words” is really true!
 
To participate capture an original photo of your U.S. city skyline and tell JLL the story behind the picture on Twitter or Instagram using the hashtag #ShowJLLYourSkyline. By submitting an original photo, you are entered to win $500 to use in connection with a trip to the city of your choice to see its famous Skyline! The photo contest will run from March 6th through March 27th, 2013, and the winner will be selected on April 1, 2013 – no joke!
 
Here’s how the contest works:

1.            Take a photo of your city’s Skyline, anywhere in the United States

2.            Log on to Twitter or Instagram and send @JLLNews your photo and a description using #ShowJLLYourSkyline

3.            By submitting a photo, you are entered to win $500 to use in connection with a trip to the city of your choice to see its famous Skyline

 

Don’t have an account? Create one at no cost on Twitter and Instagram!

 

 

 

March 7, 2013

Get to know the #iTechLounge Speakers: Kristen Moore, Regency Centers

Kristen Moore, CMD
Senior Manager, Marketing Communications
Regency Centers

Tell us about yourself and what you do?

Twenty-three years ago, I answered a classified ad for a public relations position with a Philadelphia-area shopping center. Little did I know, I would be seduced into a lifelong career in commercial real estate marketing by cutting my teeth at the country’s largest shopping mecca King of Prussia Mall. My energy and motivation comes from solving a need with the smart use of marketing, whether it’s increasing Harry Potter book sales through the country’s first midnight drive-through lane or securing a lease extension with Old Navy through a custom operations/marketing plan. I’ve worked with some of the best developers including Kravco Simon, Westfield, General Growth Properties and now, Regency Centers.

Today, I create and deliver content to achieve Regency Center’s business goals, which are primarily to drive leasing, retain tenants and engage employees.

Where do you see the industry heading in regards to mobile, social and digital in the next 5 years?

So many ideas, so little space. I’ll focus on where I spend most of my time – how landlords market their retail space to businesses. I love the shift from push marketing to inbound marketing, where companies share their knowledge in a way that attracts customers to make a purchase decision. The message is no longer about our companies which is atypical to how commercial real estate firms traditionally talk. As a result, commercial real estate developers will evolve the information they publish and how that content is delivered through such media as blogs, eBooks, newsletters or infographics.

What is your favorite social network?

For business, I think Twitter is indispensable. It has exponentially increased my business intelligence by expanding my library of news sources while conversely narrowing my reading list to the most useful. Oddly, you develop a kinship with people you’ve never met, but who you read and share with daily.

What is your favorite mobile app?

I’m totally fascinated by Vine, which forces you to concisely tell your story visually within six seconds. Click here to see my first Vine attempt to introduce Regency’s new leasing agent Web pages.

What can people expect to hear at your #iTechLounge session at RECon?

“Tweet Life of a Leasing Agent” focuses on how real estate brokers get started on Twitter – understanding why, wording posts, deciphering lingo and building the right followers. Stop by on Tuesday, May 21, at 4 p.m. in the MarketPlace Mall in North Hall.

How can people reach you on social networks?

Please connect with me on Twitter (@KristenKMoore) and LinkedIn (linkedin.com/in/kristenmoore2).

February 26, 2013

The Marketplace Fairness Act is Back


By Michael Kercheval

This month, brick-and-mortar retailers have reason to celebrate. Thanks to a bi-partisan group of U.S. Senators and Representatives, the Marketplace Fairness Act is back. The legislation, which was introduced earlier this month by Senators Mike Enzi (R-WY), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND), and Representatives Steve Womack (R-AR), Jackie Speier (D-CA), Peter Welch (D-VT) and John Conyers (D-MI) resolves the differences between bills introduced in the Senate and House of Representatives last Congress.

Over the last several years, a broad coalition of Main Street businesses and organizations from across the country have come together to urge Congress to support marketplace fairness. With the introduction and strong bi-partisan support for the Marketplace Fairness Act, these groups have formally joined together to form the Marketplace Fairness Coalition. The members of the coalition represent nearly 3 million businesses, associations and organizations across the country. I’m proud to say that the International Council of Shopping Centers is one of the driving forces behind the coalition.

In addition to the private sector, I see a great deal of momentum for e-fairness growing at all levels of government, from local communities to state legislatures to Capitol Hill. Each month more states put pressure on Internet sellers to play by the same rules as their brick-and-mortar counterparts and collect sales tax at the point-of-purchase. They need the support of Congress to get it done. And we’re working to make sure they get it.

I have never been more optimistic about the chances of enacting federal legislation. And it has never been more important. Local businesses cannot afford another year of competing on an un-level playing field. Every day Main Street retailers are forced to shutter their doors because they simply cannot compete against an entire industry that enjoys a de-facto 5-10% government subsidy.

Please join us as we work to level the playing field for all retailers. Visit our website, sign up for updates and follow us on Twitter. Talk to your elected officials in Washington D.C. Tell them that we all need a sales tax system that supports our 21st Century marketplace. Tell them that they should support the Marketplace Fairness Act. We’re closer than ever to passing federal legislation this Congress. We need your support to get it done.

Michael P. Kercheval is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC). Founded in 1957, ICSC is the premier global trade association of the shopping center industry.

February 15, 2013

How to Get Your Retailers to Participate in Social Media


Not unlike other marketing professionals in our industry, the team at Cypress Equities faced the challenge of finding the perfect way to not only educate our merchants on the value of social media, but also to motivate them to participate in a social media program – either through our center-wide initiatives or one of their own. Because most people are visual learners and tend to better retain information when it is demonstrated in an applicable fashion, we decided to take a different approach to accomplishing social media education and retailer motivation.
 
Cypress Equities partnered with our digital agency, Dallas-based Agency Entourage, to create a video that showcases a practical scenario of posting content to a myriad of social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. The video demonstrates the direct impact of social media and how strategic postings can change and guide consumer behavior, thus resulting in brand ambassadors who in turn help drive shopper traffic and merchant sales.
 
We hope you find this video (bit.ly/cypressgetssocial) helpful in your own merchant education and motivation efforts and welcome you to incorporate this video into your social media training.
 
Randa McMinn
SVP, Marketing & Business Development
Cypress Equities and SRS Real Estate Partners
www.cypressequities.com