Sheera Riemer
Vice president, CBRE
Age: 36
Industry experience: 14 years
After advising corporate clients on decisions about real estate transactions across the globe, Sheera Riemer is working on deals close to home in her new role as a vice president at CBRE’s Stamford office. Riemer joined the brokerage in July after 11 years at Newmark’s global corporate services group. Working alongside CBRE Senior Vice Presidents Mike McCall and Brian Carcaterra, Riemer creates a team with a collective 47 years of commercial real estate experience.
Q: What was your introduction to commercial real estate as a career option?
A: Growing up, my father owned and managed real estate so I had grown up with it all my life. I had an interest in college and signed up for a real estate course. From the minute the class started, I realized I had learned so much hearing my dad on calls with tenants and service providers. I ended up majoring in real estate. After college, I interned at Newmark and I was part of their summer internship program working in the accounting group. That’s when they had just partnered with Knight Frank and you could feel the excitement there. With the corporate services group, I felt that was the next frontier.
Q: What was your role working at Newmark in the corporate advisory group?
A: You’re working with U.S.-based companies that have national and international office locations. You’re not just working locally, you’re working around the globe and you’re the single point of contact with the real estate decision-makers at that company. So you interact with brokers, getting the deals done and making sure all the information for the client is uniform, whether it’s from China or Europe, and you’re exposed to so many different cultures and doing deals in every different place. Having switched over to CBRE and working in Fairfield County, it’s been great to make deals face-to-face. I was mostly doing everything on email and over the phone. There’s nothing like a face-to-face interaction. It’s been rewarding doing work in the county where you live. You drive to the grocery store and pass buildings we represent, and I have friends who are tenants in these buildings.
Q: What degree of clarity do office tenants have for their lease renewals and space requirements versus six months ago?
A: Most of what we’ve seen is Westchester and Fairfield County companies are returning to the office. We’ve seen Greenwich and now Stamford being the gravity point for most COVID-reactionary transactions, and it’s been exciting to be part of it. Most of the elite properties within proximity to the train stations are back and in some cases exceed occupancy and rents from pre-pandemic levels. Decision-makers live in this area, so they are able to open satellite offices close by and give employees that option to work here opposed to New York City. Fairfield County and Westchester have definitely benefited from the resurgence of Greenwich and spilling over into Stamford and the [Route] 287 area. We represent ownership at The Exchange at Westchester, a five-building campus, and 10 Bank St. in downtown White Plains across from the train. There’s been a lot of activity, even at the end of the year. People are ready to make decisions, meaning face-to-face is really critical.
Q: What role are medical offices, life science and pharma playing in tenant requirements?
A: There’s a very big push to redevelop into medical and there are other buildings that will remain office. And there are large pharmaceutical companies in the market looking for space. There are existing pharmaceuticals here that need more space. The decision-makers live in Fairfield County so it’s much easier for somebody to decide to come back to the office. Those companies need to be in-person, so having larger locations closer to where employees live has been critical. The local companies are back to in-person and even though it’s a hybrid work environment, it’s important to have a separate place to work.
Riemer’s Five Favorite Ski Mountains
- Vail, Colorado – Got engaged to my husband there, so it will always be #1 for me!
- Heavenly, Lake Tahoe, California – The name says it all, can’t beat those views
- Whistler Blackcomb, British Columbia – Unbeatable amount of terrain
- Snowbird, Utah – Nothing like that tram ride up to the top
- Snowbasin, Utah – A hidden gem
