Broker Opinions Sought to Help Pinpoint Values

(This story, in slightly different form, originally appeared in ALM’s Daily Business Review.)

MIAMI-As the commercial real estate market continues to seek bottom, beleaguered owners, loan servicers and institutional investors are asking brokers to help determine property values. But brokers are balking at providing free work, and critics say the pricing can be skewed as the brokers hope they will be chosen to sell the property.

With sales scarce and troubled loans plentiful, brokers are sought out for their feet-on-the-street outlook. Who better to know a building’s value than insiders with direct knowledge of tenant comings and goings, or unannounced deals in the pipeline that could affect sales and prices, the thinking goes.