Keith Meyer Advances to Partner

EVERY GREAT HAS A STORY NAI Maestas & Ward is pleased to announce Keith Meyer’s advancement from Senior Director to Partner. We sat down with Keith to learn a little bit more about his career in Commercial Real Estate and who he is inside and outside of the office.

Q. What did you do before you had a career in commercial real estate?

A. Commercial real estate is actually my third career. My first career was in broadcasting where I ran radio stations and this is what brought me to Albuquerque in 1980. My 2^nd career was in a video/film production business.

Q. That’s quite a career/direction change, what made you transition into commercial real estate? A. While I was working in the video/film business, the parent company of the business came to me and asked if I would like to buy this production company. I thought that was an interesting idea and evaluated it. I quickly realized that, no, I did not want to buy the production company, but it made me think what would I want to buy or invest in. Manufactured housing communities is what rose to the top of the list and I bought one in 1997 and still own it today. Q. What has changed in the commercial real estate industry since you got started? A. Commercial real estate is so compelling because it literally changes every day. There’s always a reason to come into work. You may not always like the reason, but there is a reason. It certainly looks different than when I started but it also looks very different than it did even 2 years ago. You have to stay ahead of the market and all the market forces. It is a dynamic and exciting business that keeps you young and mentally engaged. Q. What upcoming trends are you noticing in the industrial and retail markets? A. The biggest trend is what we call the “Amazon Effect.” Every retailer is having to recalibrate their marketing efforts to incorporate online sales and determining how best to manage their retail channels to engage with the customers. You are interestingly seeing Amazon move toward a physical presence because they are signing leases in California for Amazon grocery stores and they bought Whole Foods. On the other side you are seeing physical retailers, like Wal-Mart, determining how to utilize their extensive physical distribution system to incorporate online markets while keeping their stores open. Q. What is the most fulfilling part of being a commercial real estate broker? A. I always tell young brokers this story. I was at a closing with a woman who was in her fifties and she had tears streaming down her face as she is signing the closing documents. Turns out, this moment was the fulfillment of her grandfather’s promise to his family that he invested in real estate in the 1940s with the expectation that someday real estate would be worth so much that it would be beneficial to his two family members that he had never even met. What this woman was signing was the closing documents on a building that allowed her to quit a job she hated, to put her two kids through private school and start a new business that she was passionate about. She was able to do this, because her grandfather had the foresight to buy real estate. This was a fulfilling and profound moment for me. What we do is not just about space, buildings and land, but about people, goals and ambitions. Q. What has led to your success in commercial real estate? A. I think everyone has attributes and because I’ve been in professional sales my whole life, I was able to figure out what I was and was not good at. I am successful in commercial real estate because I am professionally persistent. I stay on a task and continue to work things until there is a final resolution. I always add value to what I do in a professional and positive way. I know I’m not the best-looking guy in the room and may or may not be the smartest, but I know I can be the hardest working. Q. What would you say is the highlight of your career so far? A. One of the best things about commercial real estate is that you can have an effect on things long after you are gone. I can’t say there is just one thing that has been the highlight of my career. The big highlight for me is knowing that when I am gone things will hopefully be better than when I was here. I am fortunate to be involved in a number of different kinds of projects that include residential subdivisions, big industrial buildings, retail buildings and vacant land. We have changed the landscape of New Mexico because I have been involved and created value. Q. What parts of the job do you find most challenging? A. I tell young brokers that being a commercial broker is easy. All you have to do is know everything there is about everything. There are so many things we get to be experts in like zoning, pricing, purchase agreements, governmental entities, fire codes, etc. That’s what I find the most challenging, having to have that breadth of knowledge to be conversant in all of them and be able to advise your clients accordingly and give them good guidance. Q. How do you approach risk? A. Risk in inherent in what we do. There is always fear in change and what we become are change agents. Our responsibility to our clients and the transaction are to identify what the risk is, quantify it and then manage it. It would be misleading to say we can eliminate it because it’s inherent, but we can do is make it so the reward so vastly outweighs the risk that people move forward. Q. Who has influenced you the most? A. I would say the person that has had the most influence on me is Steve Maestas. I think he is iconic in our industry and he has allowed me to participate with him in doing many things. As a broker in his firm, as a partner in some business ventures and as a friend on a certain level. He didn’t need to share anything, but he shared everything. Q. Where can we find Keith on the weekends? A. One of the things I have learned about myself is that I have a blackbelt in how to work, but I’m not very good at playing. So, one of the things I have worked on over the last few years with some success is how to play. My grandkids are my top priority and all I have to do is be around them and I’m happy.   Keith Meyer has over 25 years of experience in commercial real estate brokerage, including industrial, retail, multi-family, office, and land development. Keith has been instrumental in New Mexico’s economic development and has brought significant companies to the state, including Flagship Food Group, NM Transload, and Innovate ABQ. "Keith's promotion to Partner is a testament to his tenacity, hard work and perseverance" – Debbie Harms, CEO, NAI Maestas & Ward We are proud to have such a talented broker among our ranks. Thank you Keith for your many years of hard work and achievement. Congratulations Partner!  Here's what customers are saying about Keith Meyer.  https://sunvista.com/keith-meyer-testimonials/