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Meet Seamus Bailey
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[title text=”Q&A WITH Seamus” tag_name=”h1″]
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WHAT WAS A PIVOTAL MOMENT IN YOUR CAREER?
One of the most pivotal moments has been my first venture of taking a large-scale, complex development site to market and getting it under contract. You can read until your eyes go dry about the process and factors to consider but getting out there and doing it teaches you in a way the classroom won’t. It taught lessons on purchasers’ rationale, client relations, and dealing with unforeseen circumstances during the marketing process.
tell us what you love most about commercial real estate?
My favourite aspect of CRE is absolutely the science behind it. From investment properties to owner-operated properties there’s an abundance of factors that influence purchasing and selling decision-making. Commercial real estate facilitates all major business activities in some capacity, and most asset classes are in some way interconnected. The depth of knowledge required to be an expert in this field is something that keeps the industry exciting and ever-evolving.
WHAT DO YOU THINK CRE NEEDS?
I think there’s a lot to be said about an overall culture shift being needed in the industry. The two most important changes in that realm in my mind are: 1. becoming more tech-savvy and accepting of technology, and 2. encouraging an organic demographic change in the industry. To expand on both those points; CRE more than a lot of industries has been especially resistant to technological advances. This probably comes from the industry being so relationship based that many would view technology integrations as unnecessary as all you “need” is a phone to make it (at least that’s how it was). The industry has also managed to remain demographically homogeneous despite being in an exceedingly diverse city. The same cannot be said of the residential real estate side of things which presents an interesting difference between the two industries. I don’t have a proposal for why or how this should be addressed but it would be great to see change in this regard over time.
How has the industry changed since you started?
While I haven’t been in the industry the longest, I feel there have been several changes during my time. Perhaps most importantly is the increase in usage of social media. Social media is something long ignored by commercial agents, and in recent years has gained a lot more traction with even top producing brokers creating social media platforms for themselves and their teams. I think we will see this become even more common in the next decade and social media usage in the industry may eventually rival the residential side of things.
What technologies should brokerages be investing in right now?
Any and all automation projects should be invested in as soon as possible in this industry. Automation is something that is used so heavily in other industries (especially tech) and it’s perhaps the single biggest jump in efficiency a brokerage can make. Things like contracts, proposals, pro-formas can all be automated to an extent and can save brokers an enormous amount of time. Less time spent on back office work leaves more time for prospecting and deal closing!
What do you like best about Spacelist?
Spacelist is amazing for marketing both lease and sale properties to the largest audience possible. Since upgrading to Pro I’ve noticed an appreciable difference in views and interactions from prospective tenants.
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Psst…You could be our next Broker Spotlight
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Click here to check out last month’s broker spotlight…
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