CRE Chats: Noah Kruger, LEED AP
Welcome to CRE Chats! Here we sit down with leaders in the commercial real estate industry to discuss industry trends, technologies, and how we continue to move our cities forward. Recently, we talked with Noah Kruger. Noah is the Managing Director in Houston for Savills, representing clients in a variety of industries from energy and professional services, to legal and financial services.
Noah Kruger, LEED AP – Managing Director – Savills
Do you see lasting economic impact in the Houston market from COVID 19? Slow or rapid recovery?
Of course. This period of COVID is going to leave a long and lasting economic mark, a 9/11-esque tattoo if you will, on the Houston market and psyche. The one-two punch of depressed oil and work from home are realities that will not fade quickly.
Are you seeing tenants/users bringing up health, wellness, and other related issues when discussing the search for new space?
If and when they pick up the phone, yes. They realize that social distancing will be the new normal and something that they need to contend with.
Houston has been making more of a push in the innovation and technology sector, are we coming too late to the game? Or better late than never?
I don’t think you can ever be late to the innovation/tech game. It is typical for the big movements to start on the coasts and make their way to the middle. It never happens as quickly as we would like. I am excited about Houston’s push further on to the innovation stage. I have not lived here my entire life – I grew up in Austin – but my experience is that there are plenty of people here who want to disrupt and change the norm. There are technologies that will end up being developed that never would have seen the light of day had the paradigm shift of COVID never happened. I think the people who take advantage of this time and push forward with their creativity and ideas are going to be some of the ones that help get us all back up on our feet in the long run.
What are some bright spots/silver linings that you think might come out of COVID 19 for Houston?
Houstonians have always been resilient. Just since I have been here, I have seen that through the hurricanes, and now COVID and the Black Lives Matter movement. I see that continuing. My hope is that we all can be a lot more grateful for what we have here in this community and all of the potential that is here for us to take advantage of. This town has provided a lot for me and my family and for that I am eternally grateful.
How are you and your company uniquely positioning yourself to help clients through this?
COVID has put Savills right in the spotlight as tenant’s work their way through this. What a mess. We have likely done a lot of the things everyone else has – written white papers, talked to landlords, re-reviewed leases – but more than that, we have reached out on a personal level to our staff and our clients to just check in, ask “how are you?” and make sure that we stay connected.
Check out this Landlord Checklist from Savills
What advice would you offer to your colleagues in the CRE and AEC industry?
My advice to my friends and colleagues is to keep pushing. Everyday find one thing, no matter how small, to be grateful for and keep a good attitude. There are some really dark places you can let your mind wander off too if you want. Don’t. Make good use of this time because one day all of this ambiguity will be gone and things will get back to some semblance of normalcy and we will never have a period like this again (hopefully).
More About Noah
In 2015, Noah Kruger joined Savills as Managing Director, representing clients in a variety of industries from energy and professional services, to legal and financial services. Noah’s abilities lie in many fields, including his architectural background and expertise in developing client-oriented real estate solutions through assertive negotiations and proactive service offerings. When it comes to optimizing the bottom line, Noah effectively delivers complex financial analyses in both written and oral form.
While Noah has an aptitude for the many technical and evaluative processes concerning commercial real estate, his personable and communicative personality provides an unprecedented level of service for his clients, prospects, and other experts in the industry. Not only will he organize and complete an ideal transaction, but he will go the extra mile to educate his clients and prospects on the benefits of implementing effective workplace strategies.
To learn more about Savills, click here.
