The corporate outsourcing boom

In an era of downsizing, trimming, and greater efficiencies, major American corporate real estate managers throughout the country are affirming the benefits of outsourcing their real estate activity. From the negotiation of individual leases all the way to strategic planning and cost-benefit analysis, from domestic warehouses to manufacturing plants across the world, outsourcing has evolved from a trend into a critical economic factor.

This has turned into opportunity for real estate companies working in all property types, many of whom have grown substantially with the advent of outsourcing. The development of brokerage and management assignments on a large scale has brought with it an increase in staffing to handle the work. The increasing sophistication in financial analysis, acquisition and disposition of properties, asset and property management, facilities management, and consulting continues to advance quickly, and it may be changing the makeup of real estate companies for good. Those with a basic specialty have reached out to others with complimentary talents to form partnerships and alliances and create new, larger, more diverse companies. Whereas niche emphasis may have seemed like an acceptable strategy at the beginning of the decade, growth and diversification now seem to be the new goals.