Companies for Leasing Office Space in NYC: Four Kinds and Who Each Works For

The four kinds of office leasing company, by whose side they are on

• The landlord's leasing agent, also called the listing agent. Hired by the owner to fill that building on the owner's terms. Knows the building better than anyone and shows you nothing else.
• A listings marketplace. A website that gathers floors from many sources. It represents nobody in the negotiation: it routes your inquiry to an agent or a broker, and that person's role is the one that matters.
• A tenant-side broker. Hired by the company that will occupy the space, to compare every building that fits and negotiate the one you choose.
• A flex operator. Controls furnished space and rents it to you directly, by the desk or by the floor, usually on shorter terms.

How each kind is paid, and what going direct really saves

The listing agent is paid by the owner when a lease is signed. A marketplace earns its money on the introduction. A tenant-side broker is usually paid out of the deal too: in most transactions the landlord pays the broker fee, and the lease terms settle it each time. A flex operator is paid by you, inside the price, and a coworking desk in Manhattan costs roughly $800 to $1,400 a month.

Skipping the broker and calling the landlord's agent yourself often saves a tenant little. Landlords typically budget for commissions when they price a floor, so the number rarely drops, and you negotiate without knowing what comparable floors went for.

Which kind suits a team of 10, of 40 and of 80

• Under about 15 people. A flex operator or a coworking membership usually costs less than a private floor, and neither needs a broker.
• From about 15 to 60. The widest choice: a sublease, a furnished floor and a direct lease are all realistic. A tenant-side broker is the one company that can lay all three side by side. Coworking, sublease or a private HQ covers the product decision itself.
• Above that. A direct lease with a buildout becomes the usual route, with a tenant-side broker facing the listing agents of several buildings at once.

Where Nomad sits among the four

Nomad does tenant-side brokerage, from the brief to the signed lease. On your search, we work for you. The brokerage page sets out the stages. Nomad also runs Flex by Nomad, furnished private floors on flexible terms, which makes it an operator for teams that want to skip a buildout.

Nomad also offers agency leasing and owner representation, so for some buildings it is the listing side. When a tenant we represent wants a building we lease for its owner, one firm is on both sides of the table. New York calls that dual agency, and the tenant and the owner each have to give informed consent first. Ask us to flag those buildings at the start.

Comparing two companies of the same kind

Once you know the kind you need, the comparison gets narrower. For two tenant-side brokers, look at recent tenant leases near your size, the person who would do the work, and how plainly each explains its pay. Our broker-vetting playbook lists every check, one at a time.