Elizabeth Santos analyzes whether tenants should sign long-term leases when the office market is declining. After reviewing historical rental rate data for Miami-Dade County from 2002-2009, she determines there is no single best answer and each lease negotiation is unique. Long-term leases may make sense in some situations like if tenants need substantial improvements or a key location, but tenants should work with an ethical broker to determine the best solution for their individual needs and circumstances.

1. CB RICHARD ELLIS :: MIAMI-DADE
Elizabeth Santos | Office Specialist | 305.779.3133 | elizabeth.santos@cbre.com
MAY 2010
When to Sign a Long Lease
The latest buzz amongst my broker colleagues is that when
the office market is sagging, tenants should sign longer term
leases to take advantage of the savings. I have been thinking
about that and ran some financial analysis to see if this is
truly good advice.
My conclusion – it has the potential to be misguided counsel.
I took a simple approach in my financial analysis. My
research department supplied with me a historical graph of
asking rental rates for Miami-Dade County from 2002 thru
2009. Keep in mind that these are asking rates and not the
actual rental rates within most lease transactions. situation is different. Each and every lease I negotiate is
different with specific criteria, so each time I create a unique
Historic Asking Rental Rates solution to fit that client’s distinctive needs.
$35
30.91 There are situations that warrant a 7 – 10 year lease term.
$29.17 29.63
$30
$25.01
$26.29 A couple of examples are if the tenant requires above
$25 24.09 $23.97 $24.50
building-standard improvements or when location is so key
Asking Rental Rates
$20 to their business that they need to lock it in for as long as
$15 possible. I have negotiated other complex instances where
$10
a long lease makes sense. The cynics amongst us will say
that brokers want longer term leases in order to earn a larger
$5
commission. I have seen instances of this, however, if you
$0
are utilizing an ethical commercial real estate broker (that is
4Q02 4Q03 4Q04 4Q05 4Q06 4Q07 4Q08 4Q09
not an oxymoron), that broker will do what is best for you first
I made myself crazy looking at various scenarios and trying to and foremost.
see what is the best advice to offer my clients. After a couple
of days of pondering the data, running the various analyses, What is the best solution for your company?
pondering the data some more, it all came to me. Actually it Contact me today for a free lease analysis.
came to me as I was writing this article. The answer is: every
Elizabeth Santos has over 18 years of experience in office leasing with over $150 million of lease
transactions during that time. Her primary focus is tenant representation. Elizabeth is currently on the
Leadership Council for Take Stock in Children and a member of both the Doral Business Council and The
Commonwealth Institute. She is the 2009 Rising Star for CBRE’s Miami Office and Top 25 for CBRE Florida.
©2010 CB Richard Ellis, Inc. The information above has been obtained from sources believed reliable. While we do not doubt its
accuracy, we have not verified it and make no guarantee, warranty or representation about it. It is your responsibility to independently
confirm its accuracy and completeness.

2. CB RICHARD ELLIS :: MIAMI-DADE
Elizabeth Santos | Office Specialist | 305.779.3133 | elizabeth.santos@cbre.com
MAY 2010
Future Trends in Office Space
A recent white paper published by Haworth, a global leader evolving. Today’s organizations are using their offices to
in office furniture, reviewed over 150 publications on the work emphasize their brand, reinforce worker engagement and
place to determine trends in office space. The unanimous anchor loyalties for both employees and clients. The work
opinions of the experts were that there will always be a need place will continue to have numerous activities and will
to maintain a work place for most organizations. That was continue to evolve as incubators for creative and innovative
a big relief not only for Haworth, but for me. These work interactions.
spaces will become instrumental for maintaining relationships,
working collaboratively, fostering employee engagement For the full article, visit www.haworth.com and click on their
and sparking creativity. Apparently studies are showing that library of white papers.
hanging around the water cooler can facilitate productivity.
The Haworth white paper noted four major trends in the
office space of the future. First, the work place is no longer
a one-size fits all solution. With the significant improvements
in technology, employees can seamlessly move from a home
office, to a private work place office to a drop-in workstation
or team room. Workers can collaborate virtually with one
another.
The second trend is that our sense of “place” is becoming
more liberated. Hoteling and other work place strategies
are freeing work spaces from individual “ownership”. Many
organizations are converting space into more collaborative
areas.
The fact that our work spaces are shrinking is the third trend.
The average work space today is ONE-THIRD the size of
1970’s work space. The amount of private offices is being
dramatically reduced. The amount of square footage per
employee is shrinking. This results in savings for a company’s
real estate expenses.
Finally, the work place remains important, but its role is

3. CB RICHARD ELLIS :: MIAMI-DADE
Elizabeth Santos | Office Specialist | 305.779.3133 | elizabeth.santos@cbre.com
MAY 2010
Notable MIAMI OFFICE LEASE Transactions for 1Q2010
Tenant Building Market SF Type
Business Type
General Electric Airport Corporate Ctr. Miami Airport 24,369 Renewal
Electronics
Gainsco Flager Station Medley 22,480 Relocation
Insurance
Ascendant Commercial Insurance 5836 Waterford Miami Airport 17,406 Relocation
Insurance
Medtronic USA, Inc. Doral Corporate Ctr. II Miami Airport 11,627 Renewal
Medical device manufacturer
Ecuador Lines 6161 Waterford Miami Airport 6,300 Renewal
Transportation
Personal Note
I lost touch with a dear friend and recently she found me through Facebook. Neither of us is a big Facebook aficionado,
but it did reconnect us. Over Spring Break, we went on a 3-day cruise with her two kids, my husband and my son. After
23 years, we picked up where we left off. It was like our pause was only a moment and not almost a quarter of a century.
She has a fascinating medical research career and travels to some of the most dangerous places in the world, yet she still
remains the great, fun person that I remember. Funny how the most important parts of us never change….