What an Office Broker Does, and When to Call One for a First Office

An office broker does five things for a company renting its first office: finds the spaces that fit, compares them on what they really cost, tours them with you, negotiates the deal, and hands you off to the people who get the space ready. You pick the office; the broker does the legwork and the bargaining. In most transactions the landlord pays the broker fee, so a company of a dozen people usually pays nothing extra for the help. Call one two to three months before you want to move into a furnished office, or six to nine if the space will be built for you. Nomad works in Manhattan.

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.

Find my first office

Updated 2026-10-03 · Nomad Group

The five verbs: find, compare, tour, negotiate, hand off

Find. The broker takes your headcount, date and budget and comes back with a short list of real offices, including some that are on no website.
Compare. Each one is put on the same footing: the monthly cost once free months and extras are counted, not just the advertised rent.
Tour. You see three to five offices in one afternoon, with someone who knows what to look for in each building.
Negotiate. The broker bargains with the landlord over rent, free months, who pays for any construction and the length of the lease, then works with your lawyer on the lease itself.
Hand off. Once you sign, the broker passes you to the team that builds or furnishes the space and, later, keeps it running.

For a first-time tenant: your broker and the landlord's are different people

Every building has an agent whose job is to rent it for the owner on the best terms the owner can get. That agent can show you the building and is working for the other side. Your broker is hired by you, shows you every building that fits, and bargains for you. Both jobs are legitimate. Know which one you are talking to.

Nomad Property Group is a licensed New York real estate broker. On your search, we work for you. Nomad also offers agency leasing and owner representation, meaning it rents out some buildings for their owners, so ask whether any office on your list is one of those. The brokerage page explains both.

When a first-time tenant should start looking

Earlier than feels necessary. An office that is already furnished can usually be moved into two to four weeks after you sign, and finding it and agreeing the lease takes several weeks before that, so start two to three months ahead. An office built to your own design takes much longer, typically 10 to 16 weeks of construction alone, so start six to nine months ahead. If a membership or a sublet ends on a fixed date, count back from that date.

What to weigh before choosing a first office

Size. Plan on 175 square feet per person, so a dozen people need about 2,100. Landlords measure in rentable square feet, which include a share of the hallways and lobby.
The monthly total. Rent is quoted per square foot per year, and electricity, yearly increases and a security deposit come on top.
The length of the lease. A private office can be leased for a year, though two or three is more usual.
Furnished or not. A furnished office costs less to move into and is ready sooner.
The commute. Where the team lives should decide the neighborhood.

Any term you do not recognize is defined in the leasing glossary. The offices below are sized for about a dozen people, and the page for ten-person teams shows more.

Where Nomad works as an office broker

In Manhattan. Every office we list is here, from the Financial District to Midtown, and our own office is at 276 Fifth Avenue, Suite 402. If you need space somewhere else, we are not the right firm for that search, and we will say so.

Floors that fit a team of 12

Live from our listings · 6 of the 7, smallest first

A 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

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:

Does a company of twelve people really need an office broker?

It does not have to use one. But a small lease has the same parts as a large one, and a first-time tenant has no earlier deal to compare against. Since the landlord usually pays the broker, having one on your side seldom costs anything.

What should we tell an office broker on the first call?

How many people, when you want to move in, and what you can spend each month. That is enough. A broker reaches out within the hour during business hours, and a first shortlist can be ready within 24 hours.

Is an office broker the same as a tenant rep or a commercial real estate broker?

Yes, in everyday use. Office broker, tenant rep, tenant broker and commercial leasing broker all describe a licensed broker who helps a company rent office space. The words differ more than the job does.

Do we need a lawyer as well as a broker for a first office?

Yes. The broker handles the business terms, such as rent and length. A real estate lawyer reads the lease, which the landlord's lawyer usually writes, and protects you on the legal terms.

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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