By: Deborah Johnson Wood
Two years ago, when two Grand Rapids-based commercial real estate companies merged and took on a global affiliate, company leaders didn’t know what to expect. Today those same leaders can look back at the firm’s short history and see 15 percent revenue growth in just the past year, the addition of a property management arm, and the addition of six new jobs—three of those in commercial real estate sales and marketing.
The new company, NAI West Michigan, formed after Grand Real Estate merged with Taatjes and Tol, moved to new digs at 100 Grandville Avenue, and now looks ahead to adding another agent in the next six months.
“We have a very specific culture we’ve created over here that we jealously guard,” says President Jim Decker. “We’re very, very much oriented toward a collaborative culture, where clients are viewed as a client of the company and not of a particular agent. A typical firm has individual agents who carefully guard their client base. We’re 180 degrees from that.”
Using NAI’s global network helps NAI West Michigan connect clients with properties and other NAI agents around the world and brings money into the West Michigan economy.
“I have a client that had multiple locations around the U.S. and always had to find their own local representatives to purchase and sell their properties,” Decker says. “I connected them with our NAI Chicago affiliate who sold a building for them in Chicago and got them moved to another location, and my client was thrilled. We’ve done this for clients in Germany, Houston, and all over the world.”
Source: Jim Decker, NAI West Michigan
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Deborah Johnson Wood is the development news editor for Rapid Growth Media. She can be contacted at [email protected].
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