Conference Season

It’s October! I love this time of year - the weather cools, leaves crunch underfoot, pumpkins abound and for many of us in the commercial real estate trade - it’s conference season! I’ve often wondered why all of us flock to this month in particular. After all there are only four meeting weeks. But maybe it’s because the year is far enough gone to think about 2023 and we’ve not entered the crash of holiday festivities. Challenging, however is scheduling lest you are traveling the entire month. This year, I chose two - SIOR Create 360 and MassimoCon. I’m penning this from SIOR in the Big D - AKA Dallas - Fort Worth. Yesterday was a glorious fall day with early morning gems in the thirties but quickly warming to the mid sixties. Akin to a desert winter day - you just feel alive.
 
As I’ve attended sessions, my Remarkable is close by for copious note taking. Educational is the goal of this column as I review what the best in our industry have to proffer.
 
Technology and Innovation committee. When my career started in 1984, the only technology we enjoyed was a switchboard with multiple lines. Hand written notes were taken when a caller failed to connect. That’s right. No voicemail. Bliss! PCs on every desk was a distant dream of Silicon Valley visionaries named Jobs and Gates. And the business was much more local. It had to be because tracking markets was left to each of us individually. Nowadays, with a stroke of a keyboard I can search properties globally and communicate virtually. George Jetson indeed. All we need is a flying car and a dog named Astro! Will we see a time when tenant searches are fulfilled via the meta verse? By that I mean you receive a link and through your virtual headset you’re able to walk the spaces, ask questions, see the neighborhood and transact with your avatar. Think I’m crazy? Well, you can try on clothes virtually. So, it’s not that far fetched.
 
General sentiment around is we’re headed for a rough patch with finicky capital, rising cap rates, and the rising cost of borrowing. As I preached here in this space - tenant demand is still strong and vacancy scant.
 
America’s Team. I can now say I caught a pass from Roger Staubach - legendary quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys and even legendarier commercial real estate visionary. Roger’s key to success was hard work. I’m surprised he didn’t mention the fact he created the tenant rep concept! Humble as always. At almost 80 years young he still sports - sorry - an upbeat attitude and uncanny ability to fire a spiral. Fortunately, the one I cradled was more of a lateral so I didn’t fumble it. Mark Whicker would’ve approved.
 
That’s all from Big D! Buchanan out.
 
Allen C. Buchanan, SIOR, is a principal with Lee & Associates Commercial Real Estate Services in Orange. He can be reached at abuchanan@lee-associates.com or 714.564.7104. His website is allencbuchanan.blogspot.com.