Commercial Real Estate Broker vs Agent: Who You Are Dealing With on an Office Search
The difference between a commercial real estate broker and an agent in New York is the license. An agent holds a salesperson license and must work under a licensed broker, who supervises the work. A broker holds the senior license, the one a firm is registered under. An agent cannot work independently. For a company leasing its first office, the title on the card matters less than two checks: that the firm behind the person is a licensed brokerage, and that the person has closed office leases at your size. Both are paid the same way, by a commission that the landlord pays in most transactions.
Rather have a broker answer it for your team?Tell us team size and timing. A broker reaches out within the hour during business hours.
Send me floors for 12 peopleUpdated 2026-10-03 · Nomad Group
The two New York licenses, side by side
New York issues two grades of real estate license, and every business card reflects one of them.
- Salesperson: what the word agent usually means. A salesperson shows space, advises and negotiates, always under a licensed broker at the firm who supervises the work.
- Broker: the senior grade, and the license a brokerage firm is registered under. A broker can supervise agents.
Most people a first-time tenant meets on a search hold the first. The grade tells you who answers for the work, not how good the work is.
Can a commercial real estate agent work on their own?
No. An agent in New York works only under a licensed broker, so there is always a firm, and a supervising broker, behind the person walking you through a floor. That helps a first-time tenant: it gives you a second name to ask for. If the person on your search goes quiet or cannot answer a question about the lease, the firm's broker is the one to call.
The same license covers homes and offices, so the grade says nothing about whether the person leases offices for a living.
Two checks that tell a first-time tenant more than the title
- The firm's license. Ask which brokerage the person works under. Nomad Property Group, at 276 Fifth Avenue, Suite 402, is a licensed New York real estate broker, and the team page names the people who run searches.
- The person's record on office leases. Ask which leases they closed for tenants in the last two years, near your square footage, in the neighborhoods you are weighing. A 12-person company needs someone who places small teams every month. The landlords, the buildings and the concessions on a small floor are not the ones a full-floor corporate specialist knows.
Add one question about sides. The agent standing in a vacant floor is usually the listing agent, hired by the owner. Whoever you hire should say plainly whether their firm also leases that building for its owner. How to choose a tenant rep broker has the conflict questions in full.
How a broker and an agent are paid on a small office lease
The same way. A commission is earned when the lease is signed, and in most transactions the landlord pays the broker fee, whichever license the person on your side holds. A first office for about 12 people is therefore not a choice between a cheaper agent and a costlier broker. What you pay is usually identical, and the lease terms settle it on each deal.
The floors below are the ones we list for a team of roughly that size, counted at 175 square feet a person. Use them to test anyone you interview: ask what each would cost per month, all in.
Floors that fit a team of 12
Live from our listings · 6 of the 7, smallest firstA team of 12 plans on about 2,100 square feet at 175 a person. 7 floors on our book sit in the range that fits, 2,100 to 3,780 square feet, asking $44 to $95 per square foot per year.
- Floors
- 7
- Sizes
- 2,500-3,750 sq ft
- Asking rent
- $44-$95 / sq ft
- 29 West 17th Street, Partial 7th Floor 2,500 sq ft $60/sq ft Union Square about 14 people
- 45 Broadway, Partial 12th Floor 2,624 sq ft $60/sq ft FiDi about 15 people
- 153 West 27th Street, Partial 11th Floor 2,937 sq ft $60/sq ft Chelsea about 17 people
- 153 W 27th Street, Partial 3rd Floor 2,978 sq ft $44/sq ft Chelsea about 17 people
- 115 West 30th Street, Partial 4th Floor 3,500 sq ft $55/sq ft Chelsea about 20 people
- 110 Greene Street, Partial 5th Floor 3,750 sq ft $95/sq ft SoHo about 21 people
The full guide
This page is the short answer. The long one, with the numbers worked through, is here:
Related topics
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- What a Commercial Leasing Consultant Does for an NYC Startup, Week by Week
Is a broker better than an agent for a first office?
Not automatically. The broker license is the senior grade, but what protects a first-time tenant is recent office leases at your size and a licensed firm supervising the work. An agent with a long run of small office deals will serve a 12-person company better than a broker who has closed none.
Can the agent who shows a building also represent us?
Only with both sides informed and agreeing. The person showing a floor is usually the owner's listing agent. A firm acting for the landlord and the tenant in a single deal is a dual agent, a role New York permits only after each party has given informed consent. Nomad also offers agency leasing and owner representation. On your search, we work for you, so ask us which buildings on your list we lease for an owner.
What should a 12-person company send before meeting a broker or agent?
Three numbers: how many people, when you must be in, and what you can spend each month. With those a first shortlist can be ready within 24 hours, and a broker reaches out within the hour during business hours. Our brokerage page describes what happens after that.
Do titles like tenant advisor or leasing consultant mean a different license?
No. Firms choose titles; the state issues licenses, and there are two grades. Whatever the card says, ask which license the person holds and which firm supervises them, then ask about their office leases.
Talk to a broker
Want this answered for your team?
Tell us three things: team size, timing, budget. A first shortlist can be ready within 24 hours, with the asking rent on every floor that publishes one.
- Within the houra broker reaches out during business hours, no automated triage
- On your sidewe work for you on your search, and the landlord usually pays our fee
- Open pricingasking rent published for 46 of 49 floors, size and address for all
- 300+ officesdelivered in New York, 2M+ sq ft leased
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