Jim Keegan, executive vice president and co-owner of Keegan & Coppin, this year’s Best Commercial Real Estate Company, admits he’s not big on awards. “I don’t pay much attention to them, to be honest. We don’t look at how we stack up against the competition but instead by how good a job we’re doing for our customers.”
A dominant player in the North Bay commercial real estate landscape for more than 30 years, Keegan & Coppin prides itself on its personalized approach to the brokerage business. Part of the ONCOR International network, the company has instant access to more than 2,100 real estate professionals in key markets around the world, giving it a global perspective that’s hard to match. It provides a full range of services for tenants, property owners and investors, including property management, construction, leasing, retail services and tenant representation.
The seeds of the company date back to 1976, when Keegan met his future partner, Al Coppin, while they were both working as commercial real estate brokers at Grubb & Ellis. They opened their first office in Santa Rosa and then expanded to south Marin and Petaluma, then east to Napa.
A full-service, end-to-end commercial brokerage, Keegan & Coppin today is the third-largest property management company in the North Bay. It employs 35 people along with 59 agents who act as independent contractors. It also operates a construction company that specializes in tenant improvements.
“We try to be a relationship-oriented company in everything we do,” Keegan emphasizes. “Our primary concern is to take care of our customers, to make sure they get a fair deal and that they understand what they’re leasing, buying or selling. If there are any issues down the line, we take care of them. This is still very much a person-to-person business, even though the dollars can be very large.”
While Keegan admits much of the company’s success stems from hard work, he says a lot of luck also factors into the equation. “Our timing’s been good. The North Bay has been a wonderful spot for real estate over the last 33 years. And it helps that we’re honest and give back to the community. Over the years, we’ve been involved with a number of organizations that help those in need. We partner with homeless task forces and try to donate to groups that help those who are disadvantaged.”
Keegan doesn’t blink when asked about the collapse of the real estate market. “This is my one, two, three…fourth cycle, and none of them have been the same,” he points out. “The reality is, there are areas that are real tough right now, but there are also areas of opportunity. We key in on where we think the market will go and who we think the buyers and sellers will be. We concentrate our resources on analyzing the market and going after those areas of opportunity we identify.”
Looking to the future, Keegan says the company plans to continue expanding its territorial markets, building on its brand recognition and the expertise of its agents. “Sales have been pretty good, but we know this year will be off,” he says. “It’s a cyclical business. We all understand that. We’re just trying to stay healthy through this cycle so we’ll be prepared to move quickly when things pick up again.”
www.keegancoppin.com
