Grace Hartley’s Post

The current state of the office market is marked by challenges including the lack of premium spaces, the ongoing impact of remote work and the trend of decreasing property valuations. 📉 A recent report by Cushman & Wakefield exploring optimistic opportunities in the urban office sector highlights some hopeful factors to consider – such as the sustained demand for office spaces in cities, a preference for high quality workplaces and an increased focus on centralized locations. This GlobeSt.com article breaks down all the report’s handful pathways for growth and recovery in the sector: https://lnkd.in/g3binGgg   #IntegrisVentures #RealEstateOperator #Office #OfficeMarket #PropertyValuations

I enjoyed attending today's Future of Bay Area Office conference put on by Bisnow. Here are 10 takeaways regarding the nation's most depressed major office market: 1) San Francisco had 6.7 million square feet of negative absorption in office space last year. 2) Financial District high rises are trading at an 80% discount to their pre-Covid prices. 3) Cash is king. Financing is nearly impossible to obtain for these acquisitions. 4) A typical offering gets 50 tours, 15 LOIs, and maybe 3 finalists 5) Flight to quality is an understatement. It's now "flight to experience," meaning tenants want something akin to Disney World in order to convince workers to come back to the office. 6) In order to attract tenants, you have to spend a fortune on TI. Something on the order of $200-$250/SF. 7) While property values have fallen, the price of (unionized) construction labor has not. This is a major hurdle for making deals pencil out. 8) AI tenants now make up 20% of new office demand and they grew 40% as a category last year. 9) High rises are getting more attention than smaller buildings due to the economies of scale associated with renovations. 10) Recovery of the market will take between 5 and 40 years, depending upon whom you ask. In summary: There could be a lot of opportunity here but this is not a market for those who want quick returns.

At the end of the day life goes on! Regardless of lay offs, office sub-leasing and more; there are business still moving on and up. You can't change what's happening out there, you can change what's happening within you, within your control. #yourrealestateamigo

Guess what, flex is not always the answer. In fact, in my experience, 7/10 times it’s not, if …we’re bringing in flex as an afterthought into an asset strategy that’s several years in. For various reasons it won’t work. But then, for many of these buildings traditional leasing doesn’t work either. That’s why “the office” is going through so much change. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐢𝐬 1) When flex is part of the product stack from the beginning 2) When flex is part of the hospitality driving the leasing strategy 3) When the asset strategy is brand-led hospitality Change creates uncertainty, and opportunity if we have the right expertise in the room. The future of office is “full-stack” real estate. The future of office is brand-led hospitality. Still feeling grateful and proud for this Forbes shoutout by Sofia Stolberg

“Ian, what the hell do you actually do?” - my mom, circa 2024 It’s a good question. Commercial real estate is one of the most fragmented, opaque industries out there. Even for insiders, it’s incredibly difficult to find some information without having firsthand knowledge. My current specialty is tenant representation. ✅I have some experience in other areas, but it’s not where I’ve spent most of my time. ✅Tenant rep is pretty straightforward - I help businesses find the best places for them to operate. ✅I typically focus on office space, so usually these businesses are professional services or corporate offices. ✅My main value-add is that I can save the business owner or real estate department massive amounts of time. ✅Since many of the tenants I’m working with speak in “billable hours”, this is a fairly easy sell. So, mom, that’s pretty much it. I advise tenants on the best use of their space. __________________________________________ What's your specialty and why?

Facing the decision to stay or move offices? As your business grows, you might need to choose between refurbishing your current office or relocating to a new space. Both options have their pros and cons: 🏠 Refurbishing: • Less administrative hassle, minimal disruption for staff, and the ability to tailor the space to your needs. • Limited flexibility if space is the issue, and possible disruption during renovations. 🚚 Moving: • More space to match your team's growth, an opportunity to optimise location, and a fresh start to boost company culture. • Higher costs, time-consuming process, and a period of adjustment for employees. Ultimately, your decision should align with your business's current needs and long-term goals. Careful planning will ensure the best outcome for your growth and success. Find out more in our latest insight piece: https://lnkd.in/ej-uKsp3 #OfficeMove

Following on from Bisnow's Office Renaissance event in March, we've prepared a brief note of the key takeaways from the session focusing on London's leasing landscape. In a nutshell: 💻 Navigating changing market conditions is uncertain but not downbeat. 🏢 A return to the office is being pushed by occupiers. 📝 The flight to quality is real. 🖨 It’s not the size, but what you can do with a property that matters. ✒ Offices are no longer a commodity. ☎ Communication between landlords and tenants is key. Read on for more...

As your business grows, the big question often becomes: stay and spruce up or make a move? I've been on both sides of this coin, and trust me, there’s no one-size-fits-all answer. Refurbishing is like giving your office a much-needed makeover—less hassle, more control over the design, and no need to contend with a new commute (always a win). Having said that, moving gives you a fresh start and room to breathe, but it can come with a few growing pains (namely the 'which box did we put the post-its in' phase). It’s about finding the best fit for your team and your goals. If you need a bit of advice or a helping hand to navigate the options, feel free to reach out!

Looking for flexibility in your office space? Discover why more companies are choosing short-term leases! From cost savings to the freedom to grow, our month-to-month options at Executive Office Link offer the perfect fit. Ready to see why our tenants stay with us for decades? Learn more in our latest blog! 🏢

We don’t have a space problem, we have a utilization problem. That is a statement that we made often when speaking with the CFO or our clients. It looked like we were bursting at the seams in terms of not having enough space to seat everyone, but then we would do a floor work and find oodles of empty offices. This dichotomy was caused primarily by a one-to-one desking ratio and was the impetuous for us to move to Activity Based Working. An office design where in exchange for giving up “ownership” of an office, employees get access to a variety of spaces to support the different types of activities they need to do on a given day. I credit the amazing work by the folks at Veldhoen + Company for inspiring us to move forward with this. In 2017, when we starting our ABW journey, there were not many technology providers out there supporting us. Fortunately today, post-pandemic, there are prop tech companies like HubStar out there. It was amazing to meet with Joe Harris this week in London and learn more about the great work Hubstar is doing to help their clients like AECOM make hybrid working work better. Are you having space issues or utilization issues? Reach out to Joe and get some data - Facts and make informed decisions. Joe was also an amazing host and in addition to the great coffee shop recommendation, Joe gave me the lay of the land for Chelsea Football Club match that we were attending the following day. Joe’s recommendations for parts of the city to see were also bang on; the walk along the water past Shakespeare Globe, Clink Street and Borough Market were highlights for me of our tour of London. ***** P.S. Chelsea FC, decimated Westham 5-0. What an amazing first The Premier League match to see in person. Off to Amsterdam today, Rotterdam and then to Bruges, so any recommendations for non-tourist activities and sites there are also welcome!