The commercial brokerage industry is changing in San Diego with some breaking away, others realigning or others reinventing themselves in an effort to gain market share.
On January 4, Colliers International and already affiliated Toronto-based FirstService Real Estate Advisors announced plans to combine their operations and global real estate platforms, creating what the brokerage refers to as "a new global powerhouse."
"It's the third largest commercial brokerage in the world, (CB Richard Ellis (NYSE: CBG) and Jones Lang LaSalle," said Jim Spain, Colliers regional managing director here. The office here has 73 brokers.
"By integrating our business mission and services, we have a stronger and better-aligned client service platform," he said.
Spain, whose firm manages more than 4.5 million square feet of commercial space in San Diego County, said while his brokerage firm now has a much broader reach, all the commercial brokerage operations that had been labeled either under Colliers or FirstService will be under the Colliers banner.
"The network between the two firms was somewhat fractionalized before," Spain said. "We've wanted expand our East Coast service and now we can do that."
Unlike Kent Williams of Marcus & Millichap, who is in the process of trimming his operation, Spain said he has actually been hiring in recent months.
"We've recruited 13 brokers in one of the worst real estate markets ever," he said.
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