Client relationships depend on honesty

Describe your business.

Perry Guest Cos. is a fully integrated real estate services and private equity firm.

Who are your customers?

Tenants, landlords, buyers, sellers, developers, and real estate investors.

What is your business philosophy?

We’ve established a culture that encourages a team approach to finding solutions for our clients while maximizing value. The vision for Perry Guest is one of character, depth, handshake deals, the return of earnest money if called for, a non-negotiable code of honor, respect for history, traditional values, old charm mixed with up-to-the-minute technology and nimbleness that comes with a small firm.

We tend to focus on the people in the deal, not just the real estate itself. Loyalty to our clients is the key to the whole thing.

What is the most important part of your job?

Client relations and retention. Our relationships have forged our business. The second-most-important part of the business is direct communication. We are never afraid to tell a client no. We do not take on listings or assignments that do not meet our underwriting guidelines. Too many times we see customers and clients take a property to market when it was not the right time or the right fit. This circles back to client retention; without honesty, there is no relationship. Without honesty, there is no client or potential revenue stream.

Las Vegas’ real estate market was thrashed by the recession. Do you think we’re experiencing a comeback?

A tempered comeback. Our market has come a really long way since the bottom. As the Las Vegas demand fundamentals continue to grow, we see more demand starting to surface in the form of job and wage growth. Nevada ranks outside the top 10 in the nation for job growth from the end of the Great Recession to 2015, with construction seeing the biggest improvement. The industry is nowhere close to where it was before the economic crisis and a lot of that job growth is short term.

Looking forward to 2017, potential growth appears to be dominated by transportation, construction, health care, public, government and education jobs. The local economy is more dependent on the hospitality sector than it used to be, not the result needed for economic growth and more of a reason for our economy to diversify.

How can Nevada improve its business climate?

We need to incentivize companies from throughout the country to move to the Las Vegas Valley. New York and Texas continue to attract businesses because they give them real, tangible assets, not just tax breaks. If we do not start bringing on more economic lines of business, we are going to continue to be dependent on hospitality more than ever.

In order to incentivize, we need to improve our schools and community. If the people who live in Las Vegas are not willing to improve, how can we expect any new company to buy in?