In this week’s episode of Deconstructed: The Future of CRE, we sit down with Jim Hancock, Senior Vice President – Capital Markets at NAI Robert Lynn. 

We learn all about NAI Robert Lynn and its success, the industrial market, how to enter the real estate industry, and so much more.

NAI Robert Lynn

NAI Robert Lynn is one of the biggest and most renowned real estate firms in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, with over 50 years of experience in the business.

The company was founded in 1962 and is recognized as a symbol of stability and a strong presence in the market. The team is proud to offer an innovative approach of providing specialized and professional agents who are experts in each submarket to give customers excellent service, local market knowledge, and a fantastic deal.

By offering superior market expertise, dedicated work, integrity, and devotion to their customers’ best interests, NAI Robert Lynn aims to be the real estate provider of choice for commercial property users in the Dallas area.

The Effects of Covid-19 on NAI Robert Lynn

The episode begins with Jim discussing the effect that Covid-19 has had on the firm. We learn that the team is back in the office, and things feel almost back to normal for the company. We also discover that despite the pandemic, the business has experienced impressive growth.

The team at NAI Robert Lynn returned to the office a couple of months after Covid-19 kicked in, working on alternating schedules. Currently, everyone is back, with approximately 90 percent of the staff members vaccinated.

Jim explains that the team is back to business as usual and suggests that most of the city is.

When it comes to how Covid-19 has affected the business’s success, Jim explains that there was a little bit of slowdown during the peak of Covid-19 but, all in all, there’s been tremendous growth.

Jim talks about the growing popularity of the Dallas/Fort Worth area, pointing out that there’s an excellent airport and, as the area is in the middle of the country, travel is easy and convenient. Texas is also a low-cost state, so while there are some reasonably high property taxes, there’s also no income tax.

We learn that 2020 was a record year for NAI Robert Lynn. Jim explains that, for the most part, they had a lot of industrial transactions with seven industrial leasing staff members. While industrial sales predominantly led to the company’s success, we learn that the office and retail side of the business is picking up a solid market pace.

The Industrial Market

Jim also speaks in-depth about the industrial market and why so many are interested in it right now. He explains that now is a great time to be a seller in the industrial market.

Dallas has close to a billion square feet of industrial space, so the market in the area is buzzing. The cost of doing industrial business in Dallas is a lot lower than in many parts of the country.

Jim explains that the demand for industrial real estate results from several factors. One is population growth. The other is the new and innovative ways people conduct business—this includes the way that many people use Google to look up and analyze industrial real estate.

Jim points out that construction is currently going crazy in the Dallas area. He explains that there’s over 40 million square feet under construction and that developers from all over the country are now in the Dallas market seeking sites to build a warehouse on.

He also notes that the occupancy rates of properties are extremely high, at around 95 percent. Jim explains that he’s seen vacancy rates in the teens during his career in real estate and has never seen such high occupancy rates previously.

Retail Investment

Right now, Jim believes that it’s an opportunistic time for retail investment. This is because for so long, retailers couldn’t do anything due to the spread of Covid-19. Restaurants weren’t open, and many stores were shut or had a restriction on visitor numbers.

Now that more and more people are becoming vaccinated and the country is opening up, retail is in a different position. 

While people are still nervous due to the pandemic, we’ll see more people taking advantage of the reopening of retail, and perhaps also experimenting more when it comes to investing.

Entering the Real Estate Industry

The episode concludes with Jim’s advice to younger people hoping to thrive and grow a career in the real estate industry. Never lose sight of how essential it is to be face to face with people so you can understand them and grow a relationship, learning what they do and don’t like. And always be kind to people in the industry. 

Jim believes that some aspects of working in the real estate industry will never change. However, he also thinks that technology will evolve and progress to make life easier working in the real estate industry.

Being friendly, kind, and fair to customers, Jim believes, cannot be replaced with a machine or technology. To work in the industry it’s essential to have the skills to form relationships. After all, in any kind of sales, people will go out of their way to do business with people they like.

No matter how much business changes, that aspect of it never will. So, his advice for young people hoping to enter the industry would be to focus on being friendly, communicative, and understanding with people.

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