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Coast/Sperry Van Ness in Washington - Join the Winning Team
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Tom HobanWhy Coast/Sperry Van Ness is Different
In 1987, Shawn and I started what is now Coast Real Estate Services . From a very humble beginning our property management firm is now, some twenty years later, managing approximately 10,000 apartment units and 4.5 million square feet of office, retail, medical/dental, and light industrial in five Pacific Northwest states. We have offices in Everett, Tacoma, Spokane, Yakima, Portland and Boise where our, roughly, 300 employees service around 250 different properties in the region.
Two complimentary businesses have grown grew from this core business. Coast Equity Partners, an equity investment arm that places private funds into income properties and Coast|Sperry Van Ness , our real estate brokerage and transaction services business. The “Sperry Van Ness” relationship is a new exclusive contract with a very impressive international real estate company – with a very similar background and core values. With our platform of operating businesses, our strong brand in the region, and now our affiliation with Sperry Van Ness, we have become an attractive place for brokers (we call them “Advisors”) to learn, refine, and expand their businesses. Some who have joined us wanted to leave the corporate real estate firms and come to a more nimble, supportive environment. Others were running their own firms, but found we offered more.
Those who have joined us have seen their volumes increase immediately. Experienced brokers, in particular, found the professional environment and ability to control and govern their future as very appealing.
In 2008, our brokerage and leasing services group, now ten Advisors strong and growing, was awarded a contract with Sperry Van Ness to become Coast|Sperry Van Ness. Like many regional and privately held firms, we wanted to retain ownership and management control over our company, but also wanted the broad network of buyers, sellers and other Advisors, exceptional technology tools, and other benefits that the larger national firms might enjoy.
Among the firms that do this, Sperry Van Ness stood out. Perhaps the biggest difference was their commitment to placing the client’s interests first. They accomplish this in a number of ways. The two that make us different in the market place are:
Cooperation – Those of us in the commercial real estate business know what “cooperation” means. That means we have to give up half of our listing commission to another agent from another firm. It’s human nature to want to keep the whole commission, though. Often, that means client’s interests are not served. Brokers tend to lean toward pocket listings, or shopping a listing within their own book of buyers or tenants, etc. Some firms openly encourage “double ending” where at least the seller and buyer are represented by the same firm. The 1,000+ Sperry Van Ness advisors all sign contracts that puts the clients' interest first and requires that every listing is immediately presented to the entire market. This has the effect of making our listings very appealing to represented buyers or tenants, but also to principals. Never are Sperry Van Ness listings assumed to have been shopped internally or only presented on the broader market after other internal methods or “double ending” efforts have been exhausted. Indeed, this contractual commitment is unique in the industry and is creating a “multiple listing” equivalent for Sperry Van Ness offerings in the commercial real estate industry . This is real, too. Other firms may talk about cooperation, but we live it. The numbers bear it out. Over 70% of the time, a participating broker is involved in a Sperry Van Ness transaction. The average for all other firms? Less than 30%. The good news is that while we do share fees, we win more listings. Plain and simple. Clients “get it” when they become educated on this flaw in the commercial real estate business and are drawn to us when the learn that we make contractual promises that, effectively, have us putting half of our fee in the open market as an incentive to get other brokers have their buyers and tenants looking at our offerings. That additional exposure is part of the reason why we have seen our volumes nearly triple in just the past year.
Culture – This term gets used a lot in many settings. What creates a “culture” is enough critical mass of people of common values that the values become the norm and the group can consistently be relied upon to behave a certain way of doing things. Sperry Van Ness has been very careful to only grow by adding Advisors and firms who embrace our cooperation platform, placing client’s interests first, adopt the use of technology tools, and are committed specialists to their profession. Indeed, the average level of education, experience, and professional designations (i.e. CCIM, SIOR, etc. ) with Sperry Van Ness advisors throughout the U.S. and abroad is well above the average in the industry. When you join Coast|Sperry Van Ness, you will become part of a team of experts who cooperate to achieve their collective and individual goals.
But life isn’t just about money, we also pride ourselves on being active in our community and we lead by example. One cannot extract resources without putting back and we encourage our Advisors to act accordingly. The broad reach of “good” that we are able to do through this philosophy has led to some very meaningful relationships and other opportunities. Our team of professionals support and are active in many of their local service clubs and non-profits, including Rotary, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, YMCA, YWCA, Providence Hospital & Hospice, to name a few. This foundation of support for our community has also lead us to the ownership of a minor league baseball team, The Everett Aquasox (www.aquasox.com), a fun and affordable entertainment opportunity for families in our community. Indeed, life as an Advisor with Coast|Sperry Van Ness should be about making a very good living, having control over your destiny, and being active with your family and community.
All of this simply to introduce you to the way we do business and invite you to contact me to talk about opportunities with Coast|Sperry Van Ness. Here’s the business end of it:
Through an exclusive Area Development Agreement awarded to us, we have the opportunity to bring in Advisors through three doors and offer them a degree of exclusivity within their product specialty and/or geographic sub-area within the State or Region. Those who join us early will, of course, have the best opportunity to fit their business plans into this and enjoy some degree of internal control over their specialty and geographic area:
- Join Coast|Sperry Van Ness – Join our team as a licensed Advisor (agent) with Coast|Sperry Van Ness.
- Become a Sperry Van Ness Advisor in Washington – Remain or become an independent Advisor/Agent either as your own designated broker or with your real estate license under another broker. For example, if your firm name is “Bob Jones Real Estate”, you will do business as “Sperry Van Ness/Bob Jones Real Estate”.
- Become a Sperry Van Ness Firm in Washington – If you are a firm that, like Coast in recent years, is looking to grow, attract and support your advisors, and offer a new value proposition to the market, then signing an “established firm” agreement might be for you. Under this arrangement, your firm simply layers in the full benefits of linking with Sperry Van Ness. No sale, no merger, just better results.
All of these require some conversation and candid discussion. Not everyone or every firm is a fit. Culture and a commitment to serve client’s interests first, are subjects of great importance as we advance a conversation (see the SVN Core Covenant). I invite you to contact me to explore possibilities.
Tom Hoban, Managing Director
(425)339-3638