CBRE|Hubbell Commercial enters the data and analytics era
KENT DARR Aug 29, 2018 | 10:54 pm
2 min read time
427 wordsAll Latest News, Real Estate and DevelopmentChances are that it won’t take the local commercial real estate market long to get an up-close look at Zach Scheckel. He is in his second week as CBRE|Hubbell Commercial’s first research analyst. He’ll be knocking on a lot of doors, visiting a lot of properties as he learns about the market.
Scheckel fills a need for research that gets into the weeds of the local market. It is a trend among larger commercial real estate firms to provide their own data and analysis, with many relying to some extent on information from CoStar, the international firm that stands virtually alone in providing the data.
In Greater Des Moines, JLL has a research team that provides quarterly reports on the local market. In the past, CBRE|Hubbell Commercial has published an annual survey with help from a third party that has served as a go-to overview of the market.
Bill Wright, senior vice president and managing director for CBRE|Hubbell Commercial, said clients want that information more than once a year.
“The ability to provide our clients with accurate, up-to-date market information is essential to delivering the quality of brokerage services we want to be known for,” Wright said in an email. “We felt it necessary to have someone devoted to research and providing our associates sale comparisons, lease comparables, marketplace trends and other market summary reports.”
Scheckel developed a liking for commercial real estate during an internship at Kum & Go while he was a student studying finance and supply management at Iowa State University. After graduation, he worked in the real estate department of Casey’s General Stores.
Both companies are as well-known for their real estate activities as they are for operating convenience stores. At Casey’s, he was doing analytical work on property valuations and other market research. At Kum & Go, he worked with well-known commercial real estate professional Chad Rasmussen. Both experiences advanced his interest in the business.
Just into his second week on the job, he’s getting a feel for the landscape.
“The No. 1 priority right now is building the database,” Scheckel said.
He’ll be expected to drill down on the data to provide reliable information to CBRE|Hubbell Commercial’s brokers and their clients.
“They want me driving these roads and seeing the conditions of these buildings and talking to tenants,” Scheckel said. “We want to have a database so we know exactly if a tenant’s not happy with their current landlord and when their lease is expiring. (The brokers) want to get that detail.
“I’m real excited to see how far we can take it.”