As the president of one of the oldest commercial brokerages in the country, Ed Estreicher knows exactly what it takes to be a Top 10 broker in his field.
As the president of one of the oldest commercial brokerages in the country, Ed Estreicher knows exactly what it takes to be a Top 10 broker in his field.
“I have over 41 years in the industry,” says Estreicher, whose Toronto-based Wildwood Capital brokers commercial deals from the tip of Tierra del Fuego to the North Pole. “In the construction field, there are only a handful of us – perhaps six – who are doing deals in and around Toronto.”
That may be, but commercial brokers across the country are increasingly finding inventive ways to overcome a challenging market. One way is to help widen the channel of leads other brokers send them. Participating in CMP’s Top 10 Commercial list does that by getting their names out in front of lenders, and more importantly, referring brokers.
“Our focus is construction, mezzanine/equity, land servicing and secondary financing throughout Canada, the U.S., South America and the (Caribbean) islands,” he says. “It would be fair to say we do deals in every free country that doesn’t have a war going on.”
CMP’s Top 10 Commercial Broker list is an opportunity for commercial brokers to brand themselves as one of the mortgage industry’s top-performing brokers, with the magazine once again compiling a list according to individual broker volume for 2012 (January to December).
Last year was a struggle for a lot of brokers in the channel, both commercial and residential. Even a veteran broker like Estreicher had a few lean times in 2012.
“Last year we had a few good months, a few slow months; this year it is the same,” he told MortgageBrokerNews.ca. “But we have enough work to keep us going. If we do two deals a month, we are happy.”
All figures must be supplied by you, the broker/agent, by clicking here, and submitted by July 25.
Please break down your sales figures by the relevant network or lender. Also include their contact names and telephone numbers. CMP may then contact the above to confirm your figures.
For Estreicher, counting the sales are a lot easier today than when he first started – as it is only him and the secretary in the office.
“In my younger days we had 25 staff in the office,” he remembers. “Today it is just me and my secretary in the office; we use outside agents.”
The names of all CMP Top 10 Commercial Brokers will be published in the August issue of CMP magazine, profiling a number of those who made the list.
