By TRACEY DRURY
Business First

When George Hamberger decided to resign last year after 18 years at Hunt Commercial Real Estate Corp., almost immediately he began to get calls from other commercial real estate firms. A month or two later, he agreed to represent Realty USA.

Hamberger had never sought out opportunities away from Hunt, mostly because of a close relationship with the late Stuart Hunt, a longtime mentor and friend. After Hunt's death, Hamberger worked at the brokerage for a while, then decided it was time for a change.

"Things changed when he was gone, and to me, it wasn't the same place it was for all those years I had been there," he says. "So I thought, what might be a better fit for me?"

"When you have a certain reputation, people believe you might be an asset to their company," he adds.

As a top broker for many years, Hamberger's sudden availability could be likened to what happens when a prime piece of real estate goes on the market. Such opportunities for commercial real estate agencies to snare a top agent are few and far between.

Tim Hourihan, manager of Realty USA's commercial division, says there's historically been very little movement of area commercial brokers between agencies. Part of the reason is that the pool of potential brokers is relatively small: 150 commercial brokers, versus 3,000-plus on the residential side.

Independent contractors

And because brokers work as independent contractors, there isn't much a company can offer in the way of salary or benefits to sweeten the pot. Mostly, a shift could develop out of relationships, Hourihan says.

"If you really look around, it's fairly rare. There's not a lot of movement," he says.

Dave Harris, office manager for the commercial division at MJ Peterson Real Estate, says it is extremely difficult to get a top agent to move, not only from one commercial agency to another, but even from residential to commercial.

"Basically, they're happy where they're at," he says.

Lou Izzo, president of Hunt Real Estate Corp.'s residential brokerage arm, says brand recognition and loyalty go a long way toward keeping agents at the same firm for most of their careers. Hunt's commercial brokerage has a history dating to 1911. Corporate clients tend to stick with the same broker for many years, or at least the same brokerage.

"It might be 10 years between (contracts), but the agent will maintain that relationship with the client," he says. "We're like a big neighborhood. Commercial is really a big neighborhood, and the agents are more stable."

That loyalty tends to trump incentives like higher commission rates, Izzo says. A longstanding relationship with a leading corporate entity usually goes much further, he says.

"You can dangle money in front of someone to get their attention, but what you're really dangling are your business contacts, your company's reputation and its integrity and its business contacts," he says. "Those opportunities can be pretty important to a commercial agent."