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CRE Service Providers Scale Up Amid Busy 2021, Labor Constraints and Expectations of Greater Demand
With commercial real estate recovery challenged by labor constraints and another year of high volume expected in 2022, CRE service providers are working urgently to scale up.
Joseph Derhake, founder and CEO of Los Angeles-based Partner Engineering and Science, Inc., said, “The commercial real estate market experienced an incredible moment of growth in 2021 and Partner strategically and exponentially scaled its business to accommodate our clients’ needs.
“The transaction surge required us to pivot by hiring and training 600 professionals since the depths of the COVID recession,” he continued. “We anticipate another hiring surge next year since record levels of transaction activity are forecast to extend into 2022.”
Integra Realty Resources’ (IRR) CEO, Anthony M. Graziano, said, “Most market research, appraisal and consulting firms have been operating at capacity since August of 2020. We’re all working to scale up but there is a systemic shortage of experienced commercial appraisers because not enough people entered the field in the past five years.
As a result, IRR’s service level standard of three weeks “has been pushed in many markets past a five-week delivery for most of 2021,” Graziano continued. “While there’s been some easing of pressure on the volume levels recently, roughly 75% of our offices are expecting extended turnaround times to continue into the next two to three quarters.
“Given continued demand on third-party providers, we’re urging our clients to plan ahead, leave more time for due diligence, and be understanding of the pressures all the service providers are under.”
Pictured: Joseph Derhake.
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