With a combined 55-plus years of experience in sales and marketing, Marshall McAnerney and Jeff Hudson merged their expertise to form HM Commercial Group in 2015. Since its inception, the boutique real estate team has grown from a group of three to seven, with more than $400 million in completed transactions.
HM Commercial Group, which is licensed through Macdonald Realty Kelowna, is a team of seasoned real estate professionals who deliver a high level of personalized service. Specializing in investment properties, land for development and leasing, HM prides itself on its superior knowledge of market conditions, as well as key relationships with its investors, institutions and Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs).
As an innovative and progressive team, HM Commercial responds quickly to changing conditions within the market.
“We can make quick decisions based on what is happening in the Kelowna market, and don’t need to wait for corporate feedback,” explains McAnerney. “We have a very small team of brokers, but are heavy on sales and marketing support. This superior level of support allows us to focus on our clients and getting deals done, without having to spend our time focusing on paperwork.”
Hudson agrees: “We are an entrepreneurial team, providing fresh new ideas to the marketplace. We don’t live by policies created for Bay Street. “Effectively, we have created a more efficient business to better serve our commercial real estate clients.”
Attracting new talent
This new approach attracted Meghan O’Mara, who joined the team as VP of Leasing and Sales after becoming a partner in December 2015. Meghan brought a wealth of experience to this new role, having worked with one of the largest international commercial real estate firms for the previous six years.
In addition to their broad depth of experience, HM Commercial features a team with very different strengths and expertise in specialized areas which helps them serve prospective and existing clients.
This young and progressive business has worked on some of Kelowna’s biggest and most notable projects, including: SOPA Square’s leasing and strata sales, a new mixed-use development in South Pandosy; Southgate Centre, a plaza shopping centre sold June 2016; the Marmalade Cat Café Building, a unique retail building, sold in July 2016 – all of them featuring multiple-offer situations.
“Helping to shape the community is more rewarding than any single transaction,” says O’Mara. “A current highlight that we are working on is the pre-leasing of ‘The Shore’ – a new mixed-use development in the city’s Lower Mission district. This development will act as the new southern gateway to that submarket of Kelowna, and breathe new life into one of the city’s most popular tourist attractions – Gyro Beach.”
Working in the community
In addition to a strong business model and collaborative team, HM Commercial prides itself on its commitment to the community. Since its inception, HM has been a major sponsor for the Rider Cider Ride for Autism (now the SunRype Autism ride). It is a cause dear to the team’s heart, and last year they helped raise $40,000 to support families and children with autism.
HM Commercial Group may be a small team, but they have set large footprints in Kelowna’s thriving commercial real estate market. It is that boutique concept that differentiates it from larger companies. HM is sizable enough to have influence, yet intimate enough to ensure personal attention. Furthermore, it is a team in which there is a principal at the helm of every deal, every negotiation, and every transaction.
“We strive to be more collaborative than your typical real estate firm. We are breaking the mold of a closed-door culture, and encourage an openness that promotes sharing among the team and beyond, especially within the brokerage community,” explains O’Mara. “We see this as a huge benefit as it allows us to get more deals done, and ultimately create better value for the client.”
HM Commercial Group is well on its way to changing the industry landscape.
