Andre van Rensburg is the owner and broker of Steer Commercial Realty in St. Augustine since 1999.
WHAT DOES YOUR COMPANY DO?
“My company is a commercial, industrial and retail real estate company. We do not do any residential unless we deal with a residential developments and the purchase of land for turnkey projects. We do investment property transactional work, vacant land and turnkey projects. We also do real estate management for commercial properties and we will do site selection for specific tenants. We also work with developers on identifying parcels of land for a specific need on a local and national level.”
HISTORY OF THE COMPANY
Steer & Co. was founded in 1879 in South Africa and specializes in real estate investments, management and leasing. “It is the oldest real estate company in South Africa and I own majority stock in that company.” Its investments include all aspects of investment and development real estate including multi-family complexes, commercial, retail, industrial parks, land and recreational developments etc. in various parts of the world. Steer & Co., Inc. has offices/associates in various parts of the world including the United States, South Africa, Netherlands and the United Kingdom.
COMING TO AMERICA
Van Rensburg immigrated to the United States two years ago to open his company. “Commercial real estate is my passion.”
TELL ME ABOUT THE COMMERCIAL MARKET IN ST. AUGUSTINE?
“It’s interesting how the market has grown and developed in the last two years. St. Augustine market is not as big as Jacksonville, obviously, but the opportunities are here because relatively speaking the land costs less than in Jacksonville. It is increasing tremendously because of the demand. I think Nocatee and everything that is happening from the Southside of Jacksonville, moving towards St. Augustine, will in fact continue to increase the interest in the St. Augustine market. It is a niche market and specialty field, which there was a need for.”
WHO’S IN THE OFFICE?
Five commercial agents and one office assistant.
OTHER OFFICES?
He will have a second office open in Jacksonville before the end of the year. “The Jacksonville office will specialize in investment properties, specifically multi-family complexes.”
HOW DID HE GET INTO REAL ESTATE?
He practiced commercial real estate law in the early part of his career. “By default, I found myself resolving problems in other people’s properties. I bought into Steer and Co., Inc. and eventually moved over to practicing commercial real estate completely in 1989.”
PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS
He is a member of the St.Augustine/St. Johns County Board of Realtors and its International Committee, Sunrise Rotary Club in St. Augustine, St. Johns County Chamber of Commerce and the St. Johns County Economic Development Commission.
WHY BE A MEMBER OF THE BOARD OF REALTORS?
“I was new and I didn’t understand the local real estate market so they have been real helpful in identifying the specific needs for a new real estate company that needed to form themselves. We identified that there was a need for another commercial company in this particular area and they’ve been real helpful with that. We are also being helpful in assisting them in understanding that they need to do certain things to accommodate the commercial environment. In conjunction with continued dialogue with them we are hopefully now able to form a commercial division within the board.”
HOW DO YOU WORK WITH THE OTHER REALTORS?
“The fact that we are a commercial real estate company actually is a nice position to be in because we are not in competition with the residential Realtors. We found that we assist a lot of the residential Realtors who are trying to do commercial work by inviting them into our office and helping them do the transaction because we are specialist in that particular environment.”
WHAT MADE YOU CHOOSE ST. AUGUSTINE?
He is a Rotarian and in 1995 he hosted a real estate professional from St. Augustine, Patrick Hamilton, who was sent to South Africa to learn what was happening in real estate there. “We became real good friends and the following year we came to visit St. Augustine and my wife fell in love with it. We knew when we were going to immigrate that it was going to be to St. Augustine.”
HOW’S BUSINESS?
“Our market segment has grown tremendously and by leaps and bounds from the beginning. The reason for that is because of the associations we have created with local people in town. We have been doing transactions, which were beneficial for our customers. We started out slow, but now have a huge amount of listings.”
PARTNER?
He has a partner, Chris Way, a local businessman in St. Augustine who owns Barnacle Bill’s and Datl Do-It Hot Sauce. “Chris is a good partner because he knows the local market and I know real estate, so it was a great match.”
ADVICE FOR NEW COMMERCIAL AGENTS?
“Be patient, honest and don’t compromise the integrity for the dollar for any transaction because it will come back to you a hundred times fold. Make sure whatever you tell people that you have done your homework on.”
LESSONS LEARNED
“Not to go fetch the baboon behind the mountain. What that means is if it doesn’t come to you, don’t worry about it. The anticipation of a hurdle is usually greater than the reality, so we as humans can deal with problems and challenges much better than what we believe we can.”
WHAT CHALLENGES DO YOU FACE IN COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE?
“It’s an education process from my and the customer’s perspective. The market is becoming more and more sophisticated. The most challenging thing is the lack of inventory.”
WHAT HAS HELPED YOU MOST TO GET YOU WHERE YOU ARE TODAY?
“My family. One’s family life sets the tone for your business life. If you have a stable loving and supportive family, then you have the basis for a stable solid business life.”
COMPANY WEBSITE?
www.steerusa.com
HOMETOWN
Cape Town, South Africa.
MOVED TO JACKSONVILLE?
2000. He currently resides in Jacksonville because his children are attending The Bolles School. When they graduate, the family will move to St. Augustine.
WHAT DO YOU
DO FOR FUN?
He is a pilot and owns a Cessna 182. “My passion is to fly and to spend time with my family.”
DOES HE USE THE PLANE FOR BUSINESS?
“Yes, I do. It is real handy because it gives a whole different perspective of property.”
CHURCH
All Saints Episcopal.
FAMLY
He has been married to Linda, an artist and an equestrian, for 21 years. He has two sons, Shaun, 17 and Ryan, 15.
FAVORITES
A movie he would recommend is “Sweet November” and a book is the most recent Richard Nixon biography. When relaxing at home, he enjoys tuning into “Seinfeld.” When dining out, he likes Stonewood Tavern & Grill or Barnacle Bill’s.
- by Michele Newbern Gillis