Gulf Coast CRE firms shift to teleworking

In response to the potential severity of the Covid-19 virus pandemic, Gulf Coast commercial real estate firms closed their doors last week and shifted almost exclusively to digital operations.

From commercial real estate brokerage firm LSI Cos. in Fort Myers to SVN Saunders Ralston Dantzler in Lakeland, real estate firms spent the past week or more “tele-working” thanks to contemporary technology.

For many, the mandatory “work-from-home” order represented but a little departure from their normal schedules, though face-to-face meetings and showings were replaced by “virtual tours” of properties.

“We are well-equipped with the technology to support remote communications and work via our office phone system, email, mobile devices and web conference technology,” SVN Saunders Ralston Dantzler assured clients in a March 20 email.

Still others broadcast that it was “business as usual” despite the physical interruption to activities.

“LSI is still up and running while our staff works remotely,” company spokesman Richard Yager says, in an email.

Boutique brokerage firms weren’t the only ones to shift operations to remote interactions. In Tampa, Marcus & Millichap, Cushman & Wakefield and other major firms have implemented a mandatory “work-from-home” requirement for the foreseeable future.