Wednesday Q & A Tim Schaffer
Tim Schaffer joined RED Brokerage, LLC during the summer of 2005 as director of its new office division. Schaffer has earned a reputation as a problem solver during his 21-year tenure in the commercial real estate business. He was recognized by the Board of Realtors as the city’s top producer in 1999, in addition to being the recipient of the Board of Realtors Home Run Award for the city’s largest real estate transaction. Schaffer was formerly with NAI Cohen-Esrey Real Estate Services Inc. and its predecessor, Cohen & Co.for more than 20 years serving as a senior vice president, principal, and director of business development for the company.
Schaffer has served on the board of the Metropolitan Board of Realtors, the Johnson County Board of Realtors Commercial Investment Division and has been recognized by the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors. He currently serves on the Kansas City, MO Board of Zoning, which exemplifies his ongoing commitment to the revitalization of Downtown Kansas City. He also currently serves as vice president of development on the board of directors for The Society of Contemporary Photographers. Tim Schaffer earned his Bachelor’s of Science degree from the University of Kansas and is a licensed broker in Kansas and Missouri.
What’s new at Red Brokerage?
We recently hired seven brokers in our office and retail departments in anticipation for what we see as an improving market in 2010?
How would you describe the health of the Kansas City office leasing market?
The office market in Kansas City is surprisingly healthy relative to the rest of the US. Overall occupancy is 87% and although the number transactions is down there is still activity. There was a very noticeable lack of confidence by companies seeking new space the first half of this year which was evidenced by shorter term transactions. More companies today are willing to make long term commitments which is a positive indication of where the general business community sees the world going over the next year. We will actually have positive absorption this year as opposed to other cities in our comparative set that will see negative absorption. I think this means that as the CMBS market comes back over the next year we will see new development sooner than most markets -hopefully in 2011. We still have a number of large blocks of space available in South Johnson County that need to be leased before the speculative office development business comes back to its previous pace.
What submarket is healthiest in Kansas City?
It depends on the definition of healthy, mine is the level of activity and transactions taking place at any given period of time. Based on that definition I would say that South Johnson County is the healthiest however vacancies levels and the number of options tenant have still provides a very competitive environment for owners to deal with.
What is the weakest submarket in Kansas City?
South Kansas City has some pretty major swings in vacancy rates due to the fact that it’s a fairly small submarket and it has been dominated by large tenants. When one moves out it moves vacancy up dramatically and sometimes that statistic is not representative of true existing conditions. We had some fairly major tenants in this market that where in the home lending arena that ceased operations that are responsible for such high vacancy’s. One major tenant lease in this market will move this market conversely for the positive. This submarket experienced the same occupancy issues when Sprint consolidated into the campus and the market resolved those vacancies within a reasonable period of time so its temporary. The market provides a number of quality opportunities for the city to recruit large employers
In what direction do you see the Kansas City office market as well as the general real estate market heading in the coming years?
Given the fact that the hole we are digging out of is not that deep here (Kansas City) and its clear now that we have reached a bottom, we should see incremental improvement over the next twenty four months. We saw moderate job growth over the past 12 months which is a testament to strong fundamentals in our region’s economy. I think we have a solid foundation to lean into the next cycle especially with intermodal, and life science which hopefully will have some residual impact on our office market.
Where is the best place in Kansas City to buy a new suit?
Boomerang thrift store on 39th Street. I typically can find a nice green three piece suit and matching top hat for a fair price.