Change Agent: Mark Goodman, Principal of Goodman Commercial

Today, Connect CRE Canada is launching a new leadership series in which we interview Canadian commercial real estate industry leaders about emerging trends, keys to their companies’ success and other factors that enable them to be difference-makers.

In this inaugural interview, Mark Goodman shares his insights on how he navigates his company, Vancouver-based Goodman Commercial, through rapidly changing market conditions.

Goodman Commercial specializes in brokering rental-apartment and land transactions primarily in Metro Vancouver. To help close the deals, the company provides a comprehensive range of services.

Read on to learn how Goodman has overcome major challenges and obstacles along the path to success.

How do you navigate the transition from established practices to pioneering new frontiers within your organization?

Research, research, research. The market moves at the speed of money. And, in a world that is digitally dialled and globally connected, money is moving faster than ever. If you’re not staying ahead of consumer trends and policy changes, you’re ever at risk of falling off track.

As well, in a heavily regulated industry like real estate, it is increasingly necessary to put your research to work in the policy sphere. Politicians are struggling to understand real estate and housing markets, and they are always under pressure to intervene. If political leaders are to do so helpfully, they need the kind of market intelligence that they can only get from well-informed industry leaders. And not self-serving opinion. Politicians need evidence-based, statistically valid analysis that, once delivered, can stand on its own. If we are to survive as brokers and professionals – thriving in a healthy commercial real estate market – we need to engage at the public-information and policy levels.

What recent organizational accomplishment brings you the most satisfaction? What specific challenges did it overcome, and what key factors led to its success?

Goodman Commercial is delighted to have recently recruited four smart, seasoned brokers with an established competence in land analysis and transactions, and a long history in the Fraser Valley. The Valley is a sprawling Metro Vancouver market with huge potential and one that we at Goodman have been expanding into. We needed a deeper bench to serve our clients at the level of quality that they have come to expect, and these new team members fulfilled that requirement perfectly, while also enriching the land analysis capacity in our core niche of rental and investment properties within the city of Vancouver.

What are the essential elements for achieving significant progress within your organization and the industry as a whole?

A great team, one with depth, experience, specific expertise, real curiosity and a commitment to mentoring up-and-coming talent. Obviously and absolutely, team characteristics must also include integrity, good communication skills and a strong work ethic. We have to be able to communicate with and trust one another, just as we must be able to promise transparent and reliable service to every client. The deal you’re working on is never as important as the recommendation you’ll get for having done a good job.

Goodman Commercial is also proud to have one of the best marketing platforms in B.C. and arguably, in all of Canada. Based in the Goodman Report, which we have distributed as a newsletter beginning in 1983 and online since 2002, it’s given us access to tens of thousands of readers, from prospective clients to industry watchers and policymakers. The Goodman Report – and our willingness to share market analysis and insight – help enable the kind of thought leadership that regularly lands our team on the pages of such media outlets as the Globe and Mail and the Vancouver Sun, and digital media outlets like Connect CRE.

Looking forward, what critical changes do you foresee for the industry in the coming years? What advancements do you hope for?

The change has already occurred. The pressure on land and the fluidity of the policy framework means that, from now on, every broker will be defined by their research and analytic capacity. As recently as half a generation ago, if someone brought us a robust investment property for sale – say, a small to mid-sized rental building – we could do a relatively quick calculation on its value, assuming its use would stay the same. Now, the whole policy landscape has changed. With federal and provincial interventions favouring urban density and with municipal initiatives such as Vancouver’s Broadway Plan, every potential transaction must be researched deeply and considered for its highest and best use. Goodman Commercial is proud of its market leadership in investment, multi-family rental property and development land services, but we know we can’t rest on that laurel. We will continue to provide unparalleled service, but we understand that today and in all the days to come, we’re in an information business. Every real estate professional should understand that’s the world we now inhabit.

We just hope to stay leaders. 

Click here to see the full Change Agents: Leaders Driving Progress series.