Q&A With Voit's New North County Office Leadership
Voit is in expansion mode with the addition of three senior leaders in North County. We sat down with SVPs Chuck McNary and Henry Zahner and VP Erik McNary, the new office’s leadership (pictured below with associates Ricky James and Hank Jenkins), to learn about the market and Voit’s unique approach.
Bisnow: What differentiates the North County real estate landscape from other Southern California ones? How do you see it evolving over time?
Henry: North County is the “place where innovation and lifestyle collide” as stated by Innovate 78, a collaboration of creative leaders of the five major North County communities.
Erik: No other region of Southern California offers this unique combination of talent, creative capital and quality of life.
Bisnow: What are current market conditions and macroeconomic variables affecting the North County real estate ecosystem?
Chuck: Despite limited available developable land, North County has an abundant supply of talent—a labor pool comprised of highly educated people with degrees and experience in high-tech fields. North County has historically gained success and momentum by leading the region as the breeding ground for innovative, fast-moving companies that flourish amongst an often uncertain economy in other regions.
Henry: That limited supply of space combined with one of the best environments to live and work in the world produces a terrific real estate ecosystem. The best of the best flock to the area and are willing to pay top dollar for coveted space.
Diverse product types, while limited, are state-of-the-art, and have been well planned and executed, which, along with community infrastructure, go a long way toward ensuring the region’s success well into the future.
Bisnow: What fresh challenges does this market present and how are you looking forward to addressing them?
Erik: Experience has shown that while markets change over time, the ability to react quickly and effectively to each unique situation has always remained critical, perhaps now more than ever.
The current inventory of most product types is at record lows in most markets with activity high, as opposed to just a few years ago, when the situation was the reverse—there was record vacancy and low deal velocity.
Chuck: We’re at a firm that prizes local decision-making and an individualized approach to deals, tailoring each one to clients’ specific circumstantial needs. Voit is uniquely positioned to respond to clients’ unique situations because we don’t have the bureaucracy and politics that can come with growing too large.
Today’s fast-paced world requires each broker or agent be supported by the most sophisticated tools, and Voit is unsurpassed in this sphere. This gives us the ability to accelerate the success of our clients, which resulted in our expansion into the North San Diego market segment of our established business.
Bisnow: What is your background, and how will you leverage your past experience to achieve success in this new location?
Henry: Chuck has 43 years of experience and Erik has 10, but was virtually raised in the industry. It’s rumored his first words were “cap rate compression,” and he knew his LTVs before his ABCs. I myself have 30 years of experience in the North County CRE industry.
Our team collectively has thousands of successful transactions to draw from. We are committed to developing future industry leaders like Ricky James and Hank Jenkins, both associates in the new Carlsbad office.
Perhaps most importantly, the team’s work ethic combined with a genuine love of the business allows us to come together to form an environment of success and enjoyment that drives each of us to help achieve clients’ needs while growing this entrepreneurial company in a critical geography.
To learn more about Voit, click here.
