CRE professional with over 30 years of experience in tenant representation and corporate real estate services with a focus on the office and healthcare sector
The logic behind tenant representation is that in order to reach an equitable solution (leasing or acquiring) office space, the corporate user needs access to market information, transaction expertise, and negotiation skills equal to that of the Landlord who utilizes professional
I had a TV evangelist after his 13th property tour of an office listing, put his arm around me and say Coy, "I prayed about it, and God wants me to have this property for $400K." Asking price $4.4M. My response was "my client prayed about it & they want you to have it for $4.4M"
People frequently ask me, "You put a lot of effort into social media?" Is it bringing you any business? I always say yes. So, for the first time ever, I will pull the curtain back. These are the transactions I can 100% attribute to a social media connection. Someone I've never
My first big break in CRE brokerage.
I was barely into year 3 of my brokerage career, sitting in my office on a Friday afternoon. The office got a listing call. I was the only agent in the office. The receptionist routed the call to me.
The gentleman on the other end of the
In 1992, I was a young agent, Two years into the business, I broke away from my senior broker to do deals on my own. I met this guy in the gym who was a senior vice president of a mortgage company. We became friends, and I secured one of my first accounts. Not long after, I
I earned a $660K fee for an office lease because the CFO was googling office rents Houston vs Dallas-Fort Worth and found my website. Called me and asked for a meeting. No competion. Don't sleep on SEO
Waiting on
@CoyDavidsonCRE
to post his
#1
spot
@creisummit
'x' banner so that I can retweet it and tell everyone how great he is and deserves that top ranking...
I often wondered what it is like for a Director of Corporate Real Estate to assign a deal to one of your CRE brokers who is going to make a $2M fee on a deal when you make $300K per year.
I am going to create a whole deck on how a CRE broker should be using X/Twitter. Not to create payout. I have not figured that out but how do you get referrals and deals... and no $. I will just send it to you.
I am crazy buzy and new deal flow is coming out of the woodwork now. I sense that companies, people sense we are in the 4th quarter of COVID, maybe early 4th quarter but it's time to move forward. I have gotten so much new business in the last 30 days. I sense optimism
#CREchat
I sold this post office facility for the RTC in the 90's at an 18% cap rate. (All Cash) The USPS only had a couple years left on the initial lease term. The buyer took a chance; they would renew. The same guy still owns it and the USPS is still leasing it 30 years later.
I lost my mom 30 years ago (cancer) she was 52. Still to this day I continue to realize how that impacted me and mostly not in a good way. I just erased it from my mind. Mom's make the world go around.
I will die on the hill that I believe the office sector is coming back. I get criticized for being biased. Yes, I have some office clients, but I am firmly entrenched in the Healthcare sector. WFH has not taken a significant hit on my business. None of my office clients have
CRE brokers often like to think they are superior to Resi agents and I get it, but I can tell you one thing they do way better than us. They keep their listing data more complete, accurate, and up-to-date in the MLS than we do on our platforms and it's not even close.
NFL prospect AJ Simon tragically dies aged just 25
If it turns out he had a heart attack you won't hear the MSM reporting or talking about it.
I so regret taking the jab
I went to lunch (he actually invited me) with a listing broker for a site my client is looking to acquire. (Hot location) He gave me so much info on who is currently in the market looking at the development and the surrounding area.
When I reported back to the client, they were
Tomorrow is Father's day. My son and I are super tight. My daughter and I have somewhat of a strained relationship. We are going to lunch tomorrow. Super excited. New Beginnings
My wife is a realtor; she is doing her required continuing education. Unsolicited, she said, "It is ridiculous they make you study the same material; they should have a separate CRE license."
Amen!
I got a huge listing / disposition opportunity this week because I took the time to give this gentleman a bunch of market intel 10 years ago. I don't even remember the conversation. But he did.
Landlords will remember aggressive tenants and tenant reps trying to take advantage of a bad situation for tenants who are not in dire circumstances
#crechat
I will never forget being at a Colliers National Conference. I don't remember what year it was, but it was somewhere around 2012-2014. I was sitting at the hotel bar when Colliers CEO Doug Frye's assistant came up to me and said, "Coy, do you have a few minutes to visit with
Big Day in Houston for Office Lease Announcements.
LyondellBasell signed a lease for 318,504 square feet at the 64-story Williams Tower developed by Hines and owned by Invesco Real Estate.
Office is Dead
Engineering giant Fluor recently signed a 12-year lease for the entire 308,186-SF office building known as Three Eldridge at 737 Eldridge Parkway in Houston.
“On any given day, about 85 percent of its Houston workforce is coming in the office, with about 15
I am pretty easy to work with but when a young LL rep attempts to go around me as they did today, it won’t end well for you in the long run. 30 years I been in that rodeo before
#CRE
Some people might snicker at the X Gala or the
@creisummit
.
Meeting your social media connections IRL is the secret sauce. We have an amazing community
This was eye-opening to me to look at all the technology and software I am utilizing and, in some cases, paying for to run an individual brokerage practice. I probably missed a couple.
I read Bob Knakals's chapter. I have never after all these years even read my chapter. Not once. I know what it says because I got to proof it before printing. And let me be clear I am no
@BobKnakal
He is in a different league!
I really wish more
#CRE
professionals used Twitter. The
#CRE
community on Twitter gets it. CRE thinks LinkedIn is a big advertising platform, along with salespeople in other industries, listings, deal announcements and cheezy self promotional videos
There are listing brokers that will ghost you and then there are the ones that will take you to lunch and give you inside info to make the deal happen.
I got the latter today. Relationships with other brokers are critical
Brokers underestimate social media's significance.
Brokers in other cities are prospects.
Much of my $2M in commissions I have generated from Social Media came from brokers in different cities. Colliers brokers and other firms. They think of me when they hear Houston.
I am always so impressed when its Saturday morning at 8:02 am & someone tweets they made 1,272 cold calls this week and already have their workout in this morning. I did neither of those. I am still in bed with my laptop and a cup of coffee. Not everyone can be a bad ass ☕️
What a lot of CRE brokers don't understand about the value of
#Retwit
is that lurkers are gold. Nobody knows who they are, but if you resonate with them, they will reach out to you via phone or email. If you know you know
I have been on this platform actively posting for 14 years. I remember when you all were fawning over WeWork and pronouncing retail and the suburbs as dead. God willing, I will be here in 2026 to discuss the office market with you.
I've noticed a trend - Young fresh faces in the CRE brokerage scene that share the same last names with prominent veteran brokers. Funny how that works!
I am not one of those brokers that likes to get on social media and tell everyone how busy I am, I have so many deals, Look at me! Candidly, April and the first half of May was dead. The last couple of weeks a significant pick up in activity and several new assignments
#CRE
My 25-year-old son comes over about once a week to visit with Dad. We crack a couple beers and talk about everything. He gives me the real skinny on what people his age think about things.
Resi realtors go to their client's closings most of the time. I have been to 2-3 sales closings in 30 years. My first mentor told me there is zero upside in you being there. Take your client to a nice dinner later and buy expensive wine.
I am turning into a land broker. I just received the closing statement from the title company. 4.34 acres for a healthcare user. 3rd land sale this year, with three more currently under contract. All Healthcare users
I am currently in a meeting, in an office building, in an office space, talking to people IRL, about the long-term lease they are about to sign… for 20% more space than they currently occupy 😲😎
It is going to take awhile for office building owners with obsolete zombie properties to accept the fact these assets are basically land value minus demolition costs
I had the leasing agency on this building for 24 years. I recently gave up the listing, it was time. The owner of the building has been a mentor and great friend over the years.
#CRE
Who has a listing for 24 years?
Have you ever brokered the sale of the same property multiple times? This is not a big deal, a small 8,400 SF MOB. I have sold it four (4) times in my career.
I have never enjoyed cold calling when I was starting out in the biz. I would go have a couple beers or margaritas at lunch on Fridays and go back to the office and cold call. I was my best on Friday afternoons.
THIS IS NOT ADVICE
Out of 200 people at the X gala. I probably didnt meet 30 or 40 and I can only think of three who seemed bothered that I walked up and introduced myself and appeared to feel to important to talk to me
When I got into the brokerage business, I didn't have a cell phone or personal computer. CoStar didn't exist.
I am on a boat in the middle of the Caribbean, getting all kinds of business done.
My new Twitter friend, the iconic
@BobKnakal
had a great recent post about specialization. Which I 100% agree with. While I am not 100% Healthcare focused, it is about 75% of my business. I recognize this is quite self-promotional, but it demonstrates the value of specialization.
If you follow me, you know my opinion on the future of the office. I might end up being wrong. That's ok. I refuse to get into debates with those who disagree.
However, the boss wants you in the office because they know productivity & innovation suffer. If you no longer have a
Let's start a thread called:
Things Realtors do that CRE brokers don't
I will start
Headshot on your business card
FYI I am married to a Realtor so I could get in trouble, but that is nothing new!
I have seen retail declared doomed.
I have seen the burbs declared doomed.
I have seen brokerage declared doomed.
None have happened.
Now the office is doomed. No question, it is going to change, but it's not doomed.
Here is a tip for young CRE agents, hop in your car on Sunday and drive your market. You will see a company you need to be calling on, or a property that you didn't know was on the market, among other ideas. I used to do this almost every Sunday and have to remind myself to do it