Dallas is a real estate town, it always has been. With so much homegrown talent, there was a time, not that long ago, when major firms from faraway places like New York, LA, and Chicago had some challenges in establishing a tenant representation foothold here. Those firms had high-level relationships that they brought to DFW, but had stiff competition in developing organic, local business. The hometown firms in Dallas were smart, aggressive, and unique. And due to the city’s periodic explosive growth, they were battle-tested.
But times change, and so has the industry. I recently reviewed a list of the top 75 office prospects in DFW and found something interesting: The top three global firms control two-thirds of the top 75 deals in the market. Even more stark was the fall off after No. 3.
That’s not to say that firms outside the top three are not successful. Many are very productive, creative, and formidable. But in the larger requirement arena, the shift to the larger firms is very apparent. The reason for this is a function of the evolution of our industry and the deep and sophisticated requirements of major users. Those needs are specialized, costly, and difficult to pencil without scale. Our business at its core is transactional; however, what many clients need before and after that “transaction” has changed. Simply put, major users want more, and they want consistency, irrespective of geography.
The good news is, there are a lot of fish in the ocean. And although the big deals capture a lot of attention, there are myriad others that are meaningful and do not require the scope and depth of resources that many of the larger tenants do. There will always be room for entrepreneurs in DFW.
Dallas offers one of the best business environments in the world. That’s good news for commercial real estate in DFW—and for the clients we all serve.
Managing Principal Ran Holman leads Cushman & Wakefield’s Dallas-Fort Worth office, one of the largest and most active within the global organization.
