Excuses, Excuses
If you’re a CRE professional, you’ve probably heard every excuse in the book for why a deal falls apart. Sometimes things just don’t work out for unforeseen reasons, but more often than not, tenants default to one of five phrases:
“We want to lease in Chicago, but we’re worried about the crime rates. Isn’t Chicago basically a war zone?”
“We love the city, but we can’t afford the kind of office we’re looking for: a Class A, move-in ready spec suite.”
“It’s not worth leasing a retail space downtown. It’s basically a ghost town.”
“We’re still figuring out the whole hybrid-work thing. It doesn’t make sense to lease an office if we don’t know who’s actually going to need a desk.”
“Things are kinda crazy right now. We just want to wait and see what happens with the market before making any decisions.”
Before I single-handedly tear apart every single one of these excuses, let me just preface this by saying… I get it. I really do. Look, it’s a weird time in the world right now. There’s a lot going on, and a lot of changes happening specifically in the city. Money’s tight for almost everyone, and we all have to do what we can to keep our heads above water. So take everything I say with a hearty helping of salt, knowing that any imminent sass comes with an unspoken understanding that, hey, it’s tough out there, and we’re not here to judge.
Now that the mushy-gushy junk is out of the way, let’s get into the juicy stuff.
First, let’s talk about the myth of crime rates. We’ve all heard the jokes and nicknames like “Chi-raq,” and certainly we’ve all been inundated with spicy headlines about this or that violent incident somewhere in the city. But let’s look at the actual data, not just the Google AI summary of whatever articles come up when we search for reasons not to lease downtown.
In 2025, violent crime rates have actually dropped significantly – more than 30% from last year. In fact, last month saw the lowest recorded violent crime rate since 1970. And if you’re still fretting about your car, carjackings are down 50% from last year. And it’s also important to remember that the term “crime rates” encompasses everything, not just violent crime; if we take a closer look at the data from the City of Chicago’s crime map, we’ll see that many of the reported crimes aren’t quite as scary as the news makes them out to be – these are things like dining and dashing, vandalizing Divvy scooters, offensive graffiti on the overpass, that kind of thing. This isn’t to excuse crime – I mean, we’ve certainly got a long way to go and a lot of systemic issues to resolve in this city – but context is important when it comes to data, especially when tenants are under the impression that it’s too dangerous to risk walking from the El to their office. The data shows that the average Everyperson working a 9-to-5 office job in the Loop is statistically safer than they’d be in other major markets like New York or LA. And that’s to say nothing of the billions of dollars the City has invested this year in public safety programs and policing initiatives.
So yeah, are we a perfect, crimeless utopia? Of course not. But if the reason your client won’t sign a lease is because they’re afraid to traverse along the “mean streets” of Chicago, let them know that the current trends are pointing toward a safer city than we’ve seen since before the pandemic.
Let’s talk now about pricing. If your client is dragging their feet because they don’t think they can afford the kind of office they need, we can easily debunk that belief. Class A buildings aren’t the only ones with classy spaces. Landlords at Class B and C buildings are starting to see the light and shell out for major renovations, offering move-in ready spec suites at “fixer-upper” rates. Don’t believe me? After this episode, go to our website and peruse our portfolio. You’ll see what I mean. In fact, Class A buildings have tens of thousands more vacant inventory than Class B and C buildings, due in no small part to the fact that large companies are downsizing and can no longer afford Class A or trophy rates.
And don’t get me wrong – I am well aware of the industry’s nearly-unanimous fear of an impending recession. I think it’s good to be cautious, or even pessimistic. But I also feel that many brokers and their clients can’t see the forest for the trees. When you zero in on one specific vision of a successful deal – over 10,000 square feet, at least $35 per square foot, minimum 10-year deal, delivery as-is – you’re doing your client a disservice. Yeah, your commission might not be as generous, but don’t count out your other options just because they’re not as sexy. Historic landmark buildings may be quote-unquote “lower class” according to certain listing sites, but take thirty seconds to actually read the listing and you’ll see that many landlords are putting millions of dollars into renovations and repairs. Your client can get a spec suite at or even under budget if you’re willing to show them something with a richer history rather than a richer developer. And by the way, if you’re conveniently forgetting to present your client with qualified options just because some of them probably won’t make you filthy rich, you might wanna take another look at the Illinois Real Estate License Act. Just sayin’.
Next, let’s talk about the myth that downtown is dead. This one is easily debunked: According to the Chicago Loop Alliance, downtown foot traffic is up all across the board: we’re at 94% of pre-pandemic levels on State Street alone. Quote, “Starting in mid-January [of 2025], weekend pedestrian activity exceeded 2019 weekend averages by 122%.” Unquote. As for retailers relying on foot traffic from tourists, Memorial Day weekend saw Chicago breaking the record for number of hotel rooms filled on a single day. Almost 50,000 rooms. That’s a lot of potential customers.
And anyone who, like me, has lost about 30 years off their life sitting in traffic on the Kennedy can attest to the fact that downtown commuters have skyrocketed in recent years – about 13% since 2023, according to a recent report. The West Loop, Central Loop, and River North were the biggest submarkets for leasing activity in Q1, and several major retailers have renewed or expanded their footprint along State Street and the Mag Mile. Sure, things look a little bleak right now, but let’s not overlook the LaSalle Reimagined Initiative. It’s still in its infancy as permits and TIF subsidies are getting approved, but good things happen to those who wait. Your clients aren’t just investing in the right-here, right-now; they’re hedging their bets on the future, and so should you.
Next is the myth that hybrid work has made it difficult for clients to figure out their literal next move. Look, it’s been five years. Businesses have had ample time to figure out the whole work-from-home thing, and these days it’s more or less expected that employees will have some kind of hybrid work schedule. But just as businesses have had to adapt, so have landlords. Don’t fall into the trap of shying away from a space just because its layout is *sooooo* 2018. The industry, for the most part, understands that buildouts are to be expected, whether that’s demising the coveted corner office to create an open workstation area with plenty of natural light and flexible seating, or adding some sound-insulated pods to accommodate those highly sensitive Zoom calls that totally could’ve been an email. Get creative whenever you get the chance. As industry professionals, we’ve all had plenty of opportunity to get used to the quote-unquote “new normal,” so by now we should be ready, willing, and able to discern whether a space is adaptable enough for a tenant who can have anywhere from 1 to 30 people in the office at any given time.
Finally, the myth of the “wait and see” approach. Once again, I have to admit that I totally understand this sentiment. Like I said before, the world is in a weird place. There’s… a lot going on, to say the absolute least. And I think a lot of people, myself included, have been traumatized by the pandemic in the sense that we’re always waiting for the other shoe to drop. There’s always that nagging reminder in the back of our minds that everything can change at the drop of a hat. Shoes and hats dropping everywhere. It’s like DSW in an earthquake.
Wardrobe warfare aside, there are some serious risks to the wait-and-see strategy. The biggest one, in my opinion, is the simplest: you snooze, you lose. From a tenant rep perspective, it’s usually inadvisable to rush your client and pressure them into making a decision, but it’s also our responsibility as brokers and confidants to remind them of the harsh reality of CRE: you don’t always get a heads-up that the space they’re considering is about to be leased by someone else. In fact, you usually don’t get any notice at all. Of course there are many channels that have to be traversed before a lease can be signed – financial, legal, interpersonal, and my god all the paperwork – but landlords are desperate to fill space, and they’re usually not going to hesitate if they’ve got a perfectly acceptable offer on their desk just waiting for a signature.
The wait-and-see myth extends to brokers, too. Check your emails, people!! If it takes ten to fifteen business years for me to hear back from you about one of your listings, that tells me and my client that you’re not interested in working together, and I’m probably going to advise my client to move on. For landlord reps, it’s our job to advise our clients that saying, “Well, let’s see if a better offer comes in,” is more likely to piss off a prospective tenant than instill a sense of intrigue and exclusivity. We have to thoughtfully toe the line between impulsivity and conservatism. Prioritize and strategize: if budgeting is an issue, maybe it’s better to lease now and lock into a specific rental rate just in case property values increase. Conversely, if the first floor retail space of a building is in talks to lease to a dispensary, maybe it’s a good idea to advise your addiction recovery center client to wait a bit before considering an office there.
Educating our clients, whether landlords or tenants, is one of the most important and frustrating parts of this job. But that’s what we signed up for when we got our licenses. More and more, I’m encountering aspiring brokers who believe that CRE is their ticket to instant success and wealth beyond their wildest dreams, and to them I say – first of all, who the *BEEP* told you it would be that easy? – and second of all, it’s not salesmanship that leads to success in this business. It’s communication and patience. We’re advisors. We offer guidance. Honest, unbiased guidance designed to serve our clients’ needs, even and especially when our clients don’t know what they need.
So when you hear an excuse, respond with a reason. When you hear a myth, respond with reality. Don’t mistake confusion for complacency. Sometimes the difference between a done deal and a dead one is a coffee and a come-to-Jesus conversation.
But seriously, guys, answer your emails.