Poll: Commercial Real Estate Brokers Admit To Slacking Off During March Madness

Commercial real estate brokers' bottom line depends on their ability to predict trends and watch the market. This week, many are using that skill to fill out their bracket for March Madness, the biggest college event of the year. They just happen to be using a little bit less of that skill for work this week.

Brokers are expected to be less productive during the men's basketball tournament over the next two weeks, according to to the latest Apto National Broker Buzz Poll. Forty-six percent of brokers surveyed also plan to sleep less during the tournament in order to watch games.  

“The best brokers are typically the most honest, the most knowledgeable and the most productive, so it’s heartening to see brokers admit they expect to be somewhat less productive during the basketball tournament," Apto founder Tanner McGraw said. "Still, I fully expect that every real estate deal that needs to close over the next two weeks will be crushed before the buzzer sounds. Commercial brokers can multitask,  they will get it done.”

Which team are brokers betting on to win the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship? The dominant freshmen of Duke University

Filling out the Final Four, brokers largely favored top seeds, selecting North Carolina from the Midwest region, Gonzaga from the West, and it was a toss-up between Virginia and Tennessee for the South. Duke is the No. 1 seed in the East bracket. 

“We love to love Duke, and we love to hate them," McGraw said. "Let’s just say: May the best team win, and may it be a really fun tournament.”

At the end of the tournament, Apto, a CRE software company, will announce any of the individual survey respondents that correctly predict the regional winners and national champion.  

Here are the survey results:

Will you be less productive during the tournament?

• Yes: 53%
• No: 47% 

Will you sleep less in order to watch the games?

• Yes: 46%
• No: 54%

Will you work different hours in order to watch the games?

• Yes: 37%
• No: 63%

Do you have any money riding on the outcome, either a bet or pool?

• Yes: 54%
• No: 46%