BY ROBERT KNAKAL

In last week’s column, I wrote about 10 things commercial brokers can do to maximize their productivity. While an all-inclusive list would contain dozens more, I highlighted those that I thought were the most important. The response to that column was tremendous and produced many emails with questions and comments.

Interestingly, a few readers questioned the importance of, and benefits derived from, networking. In this week’s column I will go into further detail about my perspective on networking and why I believe it to be a critical component of a commercial broker’s recipe for success.

These comments questioning networking’s inclusion on the list were surprising to me given that real estate brokerage is a relationship business and relationships are greatly enhanced by face-to-face contact, perhaps more than any other kind of business.

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BY SAM CHANDAN

Last Friday’s jobs update showed the national unemployment rate slipped to 7.8 percent in September, the lowest level since the end of 2008. That result prompted former General Electric CEO Jack Welch to posit the Bureau of Labor Statistics numbers – the penultimate release in advance of the November election – had been doctored in the president’s favor.

Erstwhile responsible Senator John McCain gave indirect support to Mr. Welch’s musings saying, as part of a CNBC discussion of WARN Act violations, that he “would not put anything past this administration.” Congressman Allen West added, “Chicago style politics is at work here.” News of the data conspiracy has spread quickly across the Twitterverse. In the age of information, fact, fiction and baseless speculation are each accorded the same courtesy.

As it turns out, attempts to manipulate the jobs data for political advantage have at least one historic precedent. Under President Nixon, the White House compiled a list of Jews working at the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Nixon believed this group might be adjusting data in an effort to undermine his position.

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BY ROBERT SAMMONS

Given all the trauma going on globally, nationally and even locally, the third-quarter New York City metro-wide vacancy rate ended up not so bad.

The total figure (for all classes) closed September at 12.2 percent, down 20 basis points. That figure is based on a whopping 733.1 million square feet of inventory (with just over 89.3 million square feet of availability) across the Cassidy Turley local tracking area.

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BY JOTHAM SEDERSTROM

» Quite often, the unsung heroes of the real estate industry are the accountants, auditors and tax experts. Historically maligned as numbers geeks and rarely afforded the same level of publicity as the real estate developers they serve, accountants often go unnoticed in a city where big personalities often eclipse dutiful number crunching.

But more often than not, it’s the accountants—like those who guided General Growth Properties out of bankruptcy two years ago—are every bit as worthy of accolades. And to see the numbers*, it’s clear that both in New York City and nationally, the legions of accounting professionals focused on the real estate industry are continuing to rise. After the jump, a breakdown of each firm and their real estate departments.

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