Profile: Enn Luthringer

Enn Luthringer, a partner in commercial real estate brokerage firm CRE Consultants, in Fort Myers, has been in commercial real estate for more than 15 years. He's worked for CRE and engineering firm Wilson Miller, where he worked as a land planner on such diverse projects as Grey Oaks, the upscale community developed by Barron Collier Cos. and Lutgert Cos. Today, he specializes in office and medical office buildings for CRE throughout Southwest Florida. A native of Buffalo, N.Y., Luthringer also earned a Florida Contractors License and earlier this year received the prestigious CCIM Institute designation. He has worked with clients ranging from Bank of America to Lee Memorial Health System.

Give us your perspective on the Southwest Florida office market - healthy, robust, frothy, overheated — and why?

We've seen pretty steady growth over the past few years, and we had a good bump at the start of 2017, the result I believe because the election was over and the uncertainty attached to it. And now, from both the investment and leasing side, we've had a few really good quarters and there's been especially a lot success and activity in the Class A office market, particularly in the University Park area, where we've grown occupancy from 55% to over 80%; we've had leasing of between 20,000 square feet and 24,000 square feet a year. It's been a battle at times but it's a great project with an owner who's been willing to put money into when needed. Overall, rates have been increasing across class lines, and vacancy has been decreasing. The medical office submarket throughout the three counties, meanwhile, is even tighter. There, the trend has been to diversify out toward retail spaces, because they often have easier access for the consumer, great parking, access and visibility, all those things that service providers look for. Lee Healthcare, for instance, has brought a lot of services back into their hospitals of late, like cancer treatment, which has, in turn, pushed a lot of services out to more non-traditional and alternative locations. In the Class B and C markets, we're seeing a flight by tenants to better locations. We're also seeing less square footage per employee, more collaborative spaces, and more efficient use of space overall. The Southwest Florida market is largely governed by tourism and homebuilding and professional services such as attorneys, mortgage companies, financial planners, with corporate headquarters like Hertz and Universal Trailer scattered in, who are relocating here for the lifestyle and the sunshine and the beaches and other amenities.

What trends are you seeing this cycle that are new to the market?

I think the new office layout approach has been the biggest change, the shift to collaborative workspaces has been the biggest new thing. We're seeing that quite a bit. One tech company I know that moved here, they have foosball tables and a coffee bar in their offices, none of the employees wear ties, and most ride their bikes to work. But they also work hard and work long hours. At the same time, companies here are operating in a little bit smaller offices and making use of space as efficiently as possible. Many companies now also have high-tech conference areas equipped with white boards and other electronics and noise reduction systems, and smaller IT rooms. And as mentioned before, there's a been a flight to quality, especially from C and B buildings to A space. Everyone is thinking about it, whether they move or not. People feel they have to keep their employees happy and near amenities. That's a big shift. When I first got into business, what mattered was whether the office was close to the boss. Today, the office needs to be close to everyone's house, and to clients.

Where do you think the market will be a year from now, in terms of absorption, activity and development?