How Will the Sharing Economy Affect CRE?

David Hay

LOS ANGELES—The sharing economy is penetrating the commercial real estate market—finally—but it could mean some big changes for the industry. While new tech platforms have been emerging to create a more transparent environment, newcomer Spacegrab is bringing a taste of the sharing economy to the market. The online platform was launched last week and allows tenants to sublease a portion or all of their property.

“The old model of acquisition and disposition is shifting right now, and you see that in the sharing economy,” David Hay, founder of the company, tells GlobeSt.com. “We are moving toward more of a bartering system, and the old ownership model is fading. This platform speaks to the business owner’s need for flexibility.”

How will the arrival of the sharing economy affect the market? Well, in the short term, it could create more opportunities for brokers to snag deals that they may not have otherwise. “Right now, brokers are incentivized to earn a commission on a deal that would otherwise be a headache for them—and a costly headache for them to market and effectuate these subleases,” says Hay. It has been a problem for them, and you see that in the sparse amount of subleases that have been listed in the past. No one has focused on this secondary market for leases, and in a way that has incentivized brokers to earn commissions while allowing leaseholders to free themselves of these obligations.”