SAN JOSE – A veteran real estate company that has weathered the ups and downs of multiple economic cycles has hired an industry veteran to bolster its property management expertise as leasing activity slows within the Bay Area.
Ritchie Asset Management Co., a property manager with ties to San Jose-based real estate brokerage Ritchie Commercial, has hired Chris Hagen, a longtime executive at Swenson, a legendary Bay Area real estate and development firm.
“We have known Hagen for decades through our countless dealings with Swenson and have many of the same customers and friends in the Santa Clara Valley,” said Mark Ritchie, president of Ritchie Commercial.
Hagen was named president and CEO of Ritchie Asset Management. Hagen also became a significant shareholder and partner within the asset management firm.
The company goals to serve a broad range of clients, including independent and smaller industrial property owners who’ve a more local focus.
“Most national firms only deal with large institutional assets,” Hagen said. “We help dozens of private families with all aspects of commercial real estate ownership and management.”
Some industrial real estate firms are actually shifting their focus to managing existing properties because the leasing and transaction side of the industry begins to shrink amid the sector's difficult economic climate.
Ritchie Asset Management Co. manages the accounts of 52 properties totaling greater than 3 million square feet. The properties are positioned primarily in Santa Clara County.
The leasing and transaction market was robust for several years before the coronavirus outbreak in early 2020.
Technology firms rushed to purchase land and premises and rent huge office spaces because they needed to rent so many employees to fulfill the increasing demand for services and to present people the chance to work remotely or from home.
Even after business closures began to contain the spread of the deadly virus, industrial real estate leasing and buying activity remained relatively stable.
Technology firms began cutting tons of, if not 1000’s, of jobs within the Bay Area.
Executives acknowledged that technology firms over-hired throughout the lockdown, when distant work and distance learning were all the craze.
In addition to layoffs, technology firms also reduced their footprint and lost their appetite.
Huge office spaces were offered for subletting. Technology firms largely shunned renting or buying additional buildings and facilities.
Today, the main focus is increasingly on property management and addressing the needs of existing office and retail tenants.
Hagen was dropped at Ritchie Asset Management to take over the leadership of the corporate from Chris Hygelund, who retired and co-founded the property management company with Ritchie in 1988.
“Property management accounts are more important than ever as the industry grapples with an overall decline in transactions post-COVID and in a high interest rate environment,” Ritchie said. “They provide more stable overall fee income for the company and bring in more lease renewal business.”
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