A Brief Local Look at Women in Commercial Real Estate

The CoStar Power Broker Award winners were recently released highlighting commercial real estate achievements in 2020. CoStar is known as one of the major commercial real estate listings sites nationwide. Our Regional Sales and Leasing Director, Linda Kazak, won in the category of “Top Industrial Leasing Brokers” in the Southwest Florida market. Sunizo Superior Realty Management also won for “Top Leasing Firms” in the area.

According to a 2020 CREW (Commercial Real Estate Women) Network bench study, women only occupied approximately 37% of the commercial real estate industry last year. CREW notes this has not changed much in the last few years and the network also highlights that there is evidence of differences of pay between men and women when it comes to commission, bonuses etc. You can review the study here:

https://crewnetwork.org/about/resources/industry-research/gender-and-diversity-in-commercial-real-estate-202

Of the 40 winners for the CoStar Power Broker Award for Southwest Florida, about 15% of the winners were women. Linda Kazak is the only woman in the industrial category, and there are not any women in the “Top Sales Brokers” category. It is important to keep in mind, CoStar’s Power Broker Awards are not necessarily a direct reflection of the commercial real estate industry as a whole because these winners consist of individuals who use CoStar and its respective products (LoopNet, etc.) and/or they are individuals who independently report their transactions to the company. It does however provide insight about the makeup of the industry. You can find the award winners here:

There are several articles and publications that discuss women in commercial real estate, statistics in the industry, and positions they hold. Many elaborate on directed action on how to encourage more women to join the field including through hiring practices, leadership positions, and mentorship programs. These online articles feature some of these topics and take a deeper look at this subject matter.

https://labusinessjournal.com/news/2020/sep/21/commercial-real-estate-women-face-uphill-climb/

https://crewnetwork.org/about/resources/industry-research/accelerating-the-advancement-of-women-in-commercia

https://www.ccim.com/cire-magazine/articles/hitting-their-stride-women-commercial-real-estate/

Sunizo reached out to some local women in commercial real estate about their thoughts about women and the industry. Christine Summa with Charlee Property Management said she enjoys her job as a commercial real estate property manager and she said, “I think the most important quality is a can-do attitude. “

Linda Kazak, Regional Sales and Leasing Director with Sunizo Superior Realty Management, has noticed since working in real estate that there are more women in the residential field than in commercial real estate. She hopes more women will enter the field in the future. She has found it to be rewarding in a plethora of ways. She has made many connections in the community and has a great working relationship with all of those currently in the field that she has worked with both in Florida and out of the state.

Sunizo Superior Realty Management is a commercial property management company. Sunizo has commercial warehouses, flex, office, and retail spaces for lease throughout Florida and Georgia.

For more information, please call (239)694-6878 or visit www.sunizo.com.