Survey: what's important to tenants?

Real Estate Weekly, April 21, 1993

Rich Marketing Communications, a marketing, public relations and consulting firm serving the commercial real estate industry, recently conducted a survey of commercial office leasing brokers to determine the relative importance of 20 items, or factors, tenants consider when comparing buildings and spaces. The brokers were given the list in alphabetical order with the following heading and two paragraphs as an introduction. After compiling the results, the 20 items were placed in descending order of importance, with the average score to the left of each.

Average Ranking (Results)

9.3 Rent: including free time, rent escalations/average rent over life of lease 8.8 Financial factors other than rent i.e. loss factor, owner TI contribution etc. 8.1 Neighborhood: general location 7.8 Floor Plate Layout: elevator core, columns, windows-to-interior space ratio etc. 7.7 Transportation Access 7.3 Tenant Security: access to each tenant's space 7.1 Perimeter Security: access to building 7.1 Owner/Manager: reputation 7.0 Lobby: aesthetics 6.8 Electric Power: capacity, back-up systems etc. 6.8 Environment: HVAC controls, features etc. 6.5 Full Floor Identity 6.5 Street Address: importance of a memorable number on a certain street/avenue 6.4 Elevators: waiting time, speed, cab size, appearance, security 6.4 Views 6.2 Industry-specific building or neighborhood 6.1 Tenant Mix: who else is in the building 6.0 Architecture/Style 6.0 Fire/Safety systems 5.6 Services: concierge, newsstand on premises etc.