THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – With a red-hot real estate market and endless investment coming from every direction, BC has proven to be fertile ground for commercial development even through the difficulty of the last few years.
What is even more encouraging, is the fact that the lesser populated places in the province are growing at an exponential rate, opening up new, exciting markets for commercial real estate brokers.
“With the opening of our Kamloops office in October of this year, that will be our sixth BC office now open and that will give us more dedicated brokerage offices throughout the province than anybody else,” said Cory Wright, Founder and Managing Broker of William Wright Commercial.
William Wright Commercial is nearing its 10-year anniversary and is celebrating one of the most successful expansion periods to date. The company now has six, soon-to-be seven, offices in major commercial real estate markets across BC. The seventh office will open next year in the Greater Nanaimo area.
William Wright now also has the most dedicated brokerage offices throughout the province than anybody else, an advantage that plays perfectly into Wright’s strategy. Since day one, Wright committed to leading the company away from the traditional corporate brokerage model and, instead, focussing on community-based offices in secondary markets across BC. The goal was that these locations would become a one-stop-shop to commercial investors, landlords and tenants.
“One of the biggest challenges in our business prior to the decentralized approach were situations where we had someone in Kamloops who lives in Kamloops who owns property in Kamloops speaking to a guy in downtown Vancouver watching harbour planes flying in and out all day,” said Wright. “The disconnect was frustrating for our clients and that frustration reverberated through the business.”
Now, with this new strategy off and running, Wright is ecstatic about what these results mean for the future of the company.
“We have always been a big believer in the secondary markets like Kelowna, Kamloops and Vernon,” said Wright. “When companies and institutions come into this province, they have so many markets to choose from and we are proud to be there in those markets, ready to serve and guide that new progression.”
But beyond the business, Wright is most excited about being an integral community member, which has become a pillar in all of William Wright’s operations.
“We operate, from a corporate standpoint, the same across the board but we know that every office and every community that we are in is different,” said Wright. “We have worked really hard to tie ourselves into each respective community and become a reliable presence for each market we operate in.”
The company is a big-time sponsor of provincial WHL teams and uses the sport to connect to the community and promote different services. This year, Wright will launch a ticket rebate program with the Kamloops Blazers to give out free hockey tickets to kids and youth sports teams. Additionally, Wright has used the company platform to expand on their Helping Hands project, a charity developed in 2015 which gives back to underprivileged children through toy donation and other charitable means.
“Naturally, we will always continue to look at where things are going, what is the next market to invest in,” said Wright. “But for now, we have built up a strong network that helps clients achieve their goals and helps communities grow and prosper. For that, we are incredibly grateful.”
By Tyler Nyquvest