For NYC Startups, Commercial Real Estate Brokerage Is a Different Job

Commercial real estate brokerage for NYC startups differs from a corporate search in four ways. The term is short, usually 12 to 36 months. The company's credit is thin, so the security deposit and the guarantee take real negotiation. Headcount will change during the lease. And the team needs to be in quickly. A brokerage that handles those four well is a good startup brokerage, whatever its size. Nomad runs a startup's search from the brief to the lease, a first shortlist can be ready within 24 hours, and in most transactions the landlord pays the broker fee.

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Updated 2026-10-03 · Nomad Group

Four parts of a startup lease a corporate search never meets

A short term. Owners will sign a private floor for one, two or three years, and a briefer commitment generally carries a higher rate per square foot. The brokerage has to know which owners will do it.
Thin credit. With little financial history to show, a startup is usually asked for a larger security deposit, a letter of credit or a good guy guarantee. The amount and the conditions are negotiable, and your attorney should confirm what you are signing.
Headcount that moves. Plan on 175 square feet a person and take 15 to 25 percent more if you are hiring, or get an expansion right in place of empty desks.
Speed. Furnished and prebuilt floors are typically ready two to four weeks after the lease is signed; a custom buildout runs 10 to 16 weeks.

Building a startup HQ on a short-term lease covers the trade between term and allowance.

What Nomad does at each stage of a startup's search

The brief: headcount, date and budget, written down in one conversation.
The shortlist: floors that fit, each with a size and an asking rent. The first can be ready within 24 hours.
Tours: three to five floors in a single afternoon.
Proposals: every landlord's offer converted to effective rent, so a free month and a higher face rent can be weighed fairly.
The letter of intent: the business terms settled in a short document.
The lease: negotiated alongside your attorney, with the broker holding the landlord to what was agreed.

The brokerage page describes each stage in full. The floors below fit a team of about 15.

What a startup pays for brokerage

In most transactions the landlord pays the broker fee; the commission agreement behind each deal sets the details. Whichever firms you interview, Nomad among them, have each state in writing who pays it on your deal, what changes on a sublease, and what it expects a startup to sign at the outset.

Checking a brokerage's startup record before you hire it

Ask for tenant deals from the past two years at your size: 10 to 30 people, a first or second floor, a short term. Names beat adjectives, and a founder you can call beats both. Nomad's record is public: the client stories name the companies and show the offices. Nomad Property Group is a licensed New York real estate broker with 300+ offices delivered. It also offers agency leasing and owner representation, so ask us which buildings we lease for owners.

Floors that fit a team of 15

Live from our listings · 6 of the 8, smallest first

A team of 15 plans on about 2,625 square feet at 175 a person. 8 floors on our book sit in the range that fits, 2,625 to 4,725 square feet, asking $44 to $115 per square foot per year.

Floors: 8
Sizes: 2,937-4,109 sq ft
Asking rent: $44-$115 / sq ft

Every available floor, filterable by size →

The full guide

This page is the short answer. The long one, with the numbers worked through, is here:

Will a landlord lease to a startup that is not yet profitable?

Often, yes, when the security is structured to fit. A landlord weighs funding, runway and who stands behind the lease, then asks for a deposit, a letter of credit or a guarantee sized to the risk. Security deposits and letters of credit explains the forms it can take.

Should a 12-person startup sign for one year or three?

That depends on how far you can forecast. If the hiring plan is firm for two years, a 24 or 36 month term usually costs less per square foot than a 12 month one. If a funding decision falls inside the next year, the shorter term can be worth its premium. A sublet right and a renewal option help a longer lease behave like a shorter one.

How fast can a startup get from first call to desks?

On a furnished or prebuilt floor, a decisive team can be at desks six to eight weeks after its first tour. A broker reaches out within the hour during business hours, and tours fit in one afternoon. The lease is the slow part, typically three to six weeks of drafts between attorneys.

Is a lease the right product for a startup of fewer than ten people?

Often not yet. For a team under about 15, coworking is usually the cheaper route, so set the two side by side before committing to either. Where a private floor is still the aim, a 12 month term or a furnished floor keeps the commitment small. The brokerage service itself does not change with the size of the company.

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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