Category Archives: News

MANSARD Featured in New Release of “Shift: Commercial”

MANSARD has been featured in the recent book “Shift: Commercial. How Top Commercial Brokers Tackle Tough Times” by Buddy Norman.  The book details to cope and profit from market shifts by adjusting your mindset and actions to make your business operate in a higher gear.

In “Shift”, MANSARD President, Jeremy Cyrier, CCIM discusses how critical creating a differentiating position has become for successfully marketing commercial real estate.

MANSARD has achieved tremendous growth with by uncovering what makes its clients’ opportunities unique, special, and different and then communicating those positions into the market, ultimately increasing lead flow, opportunities, and deals to maximize returns in commercial real estate.

What others are saying about “Shift: Commercial”:

“The commercial market is an important, growing and changing opportunity today. Buddy Norman’s 12 practical and critical business tactics are an imperative for the success of the commercial broker in their brokerage practice to seize the opportunity and excel.”  Stewart Morris, Jr., President and Co-CEO, Stewart Title

“Not only an extraordinary, pertinent publication for the times we face, but also a super guide for new comers and a refresher for those who have labored long and hard in the commercial real estate industry.”  Henry F. White, Jr., Executive Vice President and CEO, CCIM Institute

For more information about obtaining a copy of “Shift: Commercial”, click here.

About the Author: Jeremy Cyrier, CCIM is the President of MANSARD, a market research driven commercial real estate brokerage and advisory firm, and member of the CCIM Institute faculty.  You may reach Jeremy at Jeremy@Mansardcre.com.

Get a free copy of The Essential 7 Step Guide to Filling Commercial Vacancies.

Contact MANSARD’s Brokerage Services here.

MANSARD Welcomes Navaneeth Conjeevaram

MANSARD Commercial Properties is pleased to announce the addition of Navaneeth Conjeevaram to its growing investment sales and leasing team. Navaneeth Conjeevaram advises corporate and private investors and users of commercial real estate and prides himself on his careful and detailed approach to understanding his clients’ needs to deliver pragmatic solutions that create value and sustainable relationships.

Navaneeth has worked for Insignia, holds his BA in Business Administration, has over 7 years of commercial real estate experience.  He has leased 600,000 SF of office space on behalf of clients such as Tata Tele Services, Sierra Atlantic, Google, Monster.com, Aztec Software, Pizza Hut, and GE Motors.

Navaneeth is a CCIM Candidate and may be reached via telephone at 617-674-2043 ext. 205 or by email at Nav@Mansardcre.com.

MANSARD and Property Politics Team Up To Train New England CCIMs

Jeremy Cyrier, CCIM, principal of MANSARD Commercial Properties and Wayne D’Amico, CCIM, principal of Connecticut based Property Politics teamed up to train CCIM’s from across New England on the CCIM Institute’s Site To Do Business in Boston this week.  The class was held at 60 State Street Boston at the offices of Wilmer & Hale in cooperation with the Greater Boston Board of Realtors and was attended by commercial real estate brokers, data from across New England.

The all day event featured a full tour and use of the CCIM Insitute’s Site To Do Business, which is a GIS platform used to perform market analysis and to identify demand and opportunities in the commercial real estate markets across the United States.

Chris Norwood of NAI Norwood Group said,

“great job on the class….Leaving the class I feel much more comfortable with the site and enjoy working with it much more than I had in the past…I am liking this site more and more, with your help.”

H. Sandy Brown, President of the New England CCIM Chapter said,

“On behalf of all the attendees of your session, I would like to thank you both for a very informative and entertaining program, last week.  Your insights and practical applications of the usage of the STDB were fantastic.  I know we all left the program with a very practical knowledge of the site, and many ways that we can use it to help us better support our clients.  That, in itself, will make us stand our amongst other practitioners in our markets.  This is the true meaning of what it is to be a CCIM!!!

Again thank you for doing such a great job!!”

To invite Jeremy to train you or your employees on the Site To Do Business, email him at Jeremy@Mansardcre.com with the words “Site To Do Business Training” in the subject line.  Include your name, when you would like to be called, and the best number to reach you. Jeremy will then contact you to discuss scheduling a Site to do Business training session for you and your employees.

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About the Author: Jeremy Cyrier, CCIM is the founder/principal of MANSARD Commercial Properties and member of the CCIM Institute faculty. He delivers thoughtful, large scale commercial real estate solutions to the individual challenges owners and tenants face. Jeremy Cyrier, CCIM was elected by Banker & Tradesman as one of its New Leaders in 2009. You may reach Jeremy at Jeremy@Mansardcre.com.

Unemployment Rate Falls – The Impact on Your Real Estate Investments

The department of labor released their November job loss figures this week boasting a decline in the number of new unemployment benefit claims continuing a five-week trend (see the press release). The immediate response from investors in real estate who were wishing for any sign of good news in this murky economy is a sigh of relief – we are on the mend!

A decrease in claims means that more companies are adding new employees than they are letting go, and thus it appears the job market is improving. Commercial real estate owners nationwide likely view an improved job market as a sign that vacancy rates will decline, companies are more financially strong, and values will level out or even begin to increase. As shown in previous economic downturns, as joblessness decreases, the result is an increase in rental rates and occupancy rates. Continue reading →

Cyrier Named to Banker and Tradesman’s “New Leaders” 2009

Jeremy Cyrier, CCIM is 1 of 29 named to Banker & Tradesman’s New Leaders in 2009.  The Banker & Tradesman Publication set out to find leaders at the forefront of cutting edge companies, who are their firm’s top performers, and are entrepreneurs with a bent for innovation.  Their work is at the center of their organization’s growth.

The award was also given to those who have found ways to give back to their larger communities, participating in extracurricular activities and charities. Jeremy Cyrier, CCIM is the principal of MANSARD Commercial Properties, is a member of the CCIM Institute faculty where he teaches Financial Analysis for Commercial Real Estate, acts as Vice President on the New England CCIM Chapter Board of Directors, is a member of the Middlessex Reserve Deputy Sheriff Association, and is a member of the Jay W Levine 2010 Leadership Academy.

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MANSARD Welcomes John Hughes and Paul Lam

The more often we do something the same way, the more often it becomes more difficult to think about doing it any other way.  Have you ever heard the expression, “When the only tool you have is a hammer, everything else looks like a nail”?  Sometimes it takes that hammer to the head (or a market correction) to get us thinking differently and 
welcome to change.

Swahili speakers in East Africa have a proverb that reminds us that change is a good thing and that we should embrace it; Kipya Kinyeni is what they say.

In the spirit of the Swahili, we’re happy to announce that we recently added 2 new brokers to our team.  John Hughes, who brings with him his prior experience with New Dover Associates, is an expert in  the valuation, leasing and selling of office, industrial and retail properties throughout Eastern and Central Massachusetts.

Paul Lam joins us as a new leasing and commercial real estate sales associate.  Prior to joining MANSARD, Paul founded and built a digital technology company and worked as an investment banker in the Mergers & Acquisitions Group at S.G. Warburg & Company.  Paul holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania with a double major in Corporate Finance and Strategic Management.

Please join us in welcoming these two fine young men to MANSARD Commercial Properties.  We’re lucky to have them.

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Cyrier is One of 19 Admitted to CCIM Institute’s Leadership Academy

JEREMY CYRIER, CCIM was accepted into the 2010 Jay W. Levine Leadership Development Academy, a program established by the CCIM Institute to help foster the development of the next generation of leaders in the commercial investment real estate industry.

Cyrier will be among 19 Certified Commercial Investment Members (CCIMs) from across the nation who will participate in a wide range of team building exercises throughout the year.

Established in 2003, the Leadership Development Academy is designed to build a network of CCIM leaders whose increased awareness and commitment to service will help shape the future of the CCIM Institute, the governing body of the largest commercial real estate network in the world.  Participants also develop personal talents and skills that impact and influence everyday business relationships.

The academy is named in memory of Jay W. Levine, CCIM #2 and the first president of the CCIM Institute.  Mr. Levine was an inspirational and industry leader for close to four decades before his death in January 2002.

Cyrier is scheduled to complete Academy requirements during the Institute’s fall business meetings in Orlando, Florida in October 2010.

Cyrier is a principal with MANSARD Commercial Properties.   Cyrier specializes in office leasing and investment sales.

Based in Chicago, the CCIM Institute confers the Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM) designation to commercial real estate professionals through an extensive curriculum of 200 classroom hours, in additional to professional industry experience.  Currently, there are approximately 9,000 CCIMs in 1,000 markets worldwide.  An additional 7,000 practitioners are pursuing the designation.

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Jeremy Cyrier, CCIM can be reached at 617-674-2203 or by email at Jeremy@Mansardcre.com .

How to Think Like Smart Money

We live in a time of turbulence.  We hold on as old systems are tested and pushed to the hilt.  Look at how government spending supports and maintains these systems for as long as possible before allowing them to break — case in point, GM’s bankruptcy.

But what happens when these systems shatter?  We pick up the pieces and rearrange them to create new modes of operating amidst a new landscape.  We develop a new equilibrium, don’t we?

Here are a few applications I’ve seen recently:

  • Combine a demolition crew with a functionally obsolete 
 warehouse building to bulldoze portions of the building to create 2 -3 functional industrial properties.
  • Make tenants your lenders.  Ask them to finance your 
 development and also be the anchor.
  • Unpack the words “Toxic” and “Asset”.  They’re really just liabilities.  Turn 
 trash into cash by repackaging, repricing, uncovering underlying value, and 
generating return on investment by aligning the new asset with market 
demand.

Ask yourself, if it’s true that, according to he philosopher Heraclitus, “A wonderful harmony is created when we join together the seemingly unconnected,” then what pieces could you assemble to create new opportunities that will make you money and provide value to your community?

About the Author:Jeremy Cyrier, CCIM is a principal with MANSARD Commercial Properties and member of the CCIM Institute faculty. He offers advisory services and brokerage expertise to commercial real estate owners and tenants. You may reach Jeremy at Jeremy@Mansardcre.com.

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How New England Based Investors See the Market

Change is inevitable and everybody resists it.  But what happens when the market changes and not everyone agrees with what’s happening?  We wanted to find out.  So we ran a survey of over 1,157 New England based commercial real estate owners and investors to collect their thoughts on the commercial real estate market.

Do you really think anyone selling today is distressed?

Distressed Sellers Well, not exactly.  On our end of the business, we’re hearing that there aren’t enough opportunities in the market and that sellers are afraid to transact, creating the impression that those selling today must be distressed.

Our survey indicates otherwise.  The results were almost equally divided.   Almost half disagreed.  Only 9% said they definitely agreed that anyone selling today is a distressed seller.

What’s going on with cap rates? Will they stay the same or increase?

We’ve seen an uptick in cap rates.   What do you think?  75% said  they believed that cap rates would change.  Yet a full 25% maintained that cap rates would stay the same.  So if rates are changing and most agree, are they going up or down?

According to our investors and owners, 84% thought they would go up, but they were mixed on how strongly they felt about it.  28% somewhat agreed that cap rates would increase, 44% agreed they would increase, and only 13% said that cap rates would definitely increase.Cap Rates Boston Ma Commercial Real Estate

When the market’s in flux, people tend to withdraw and then slowly return as they reassess the situation.

These opinions may reflect the beginning of a detente in expectations between buyers and sellers.  There’s not doubt that cap rates are increasing and it seems to be gaining general acceptance in the market among owners and investors alike, which signifies the early steps in agreeing on the market’s direction (the amount of the cap rate increase is to be determined by how much they buy and sell for over the coming months.)

If you were to have asked these questions 3 months ago, the outcomes may have differed.  More people would have likely answered that anyone selling was truly distressed, which, according to this survey, seems to have moderated.

Two types of sellers–necessity vs choice sellers–will emerge and investors will begin to see the distinctions between these opportunities.  They’ll react accordingly, looking first for those who have to sell (necessity) and often times ending up buying from those who (choice) want to sell–these deals are often stabilized, less risky, are well located, and are superior in construction.

We believe that this easing of expectations in the market will lead to increases in transaction volume. More properties will sell, but for less.

In the next post, learn about what these investors and owners think of the tenant market and when they expect to see the bottom.

About the Author:Jeremy Cyrier, CCIM is a principal with MANSARD Commercial Properties and member of the CCIM Institute faculty. He offers advisory services and brokerage expertise to commercial real estate owners and tenants. You may reach Jeremy at Jeremy@Mansardcre.com.

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