Evaluating a brokerage firm is more straightforward than most occupiers expect. Six checks, most of which take minutes, will tell you whether a firm can actually execute your requirement.

Before that, though, most occupiers ask a more basic question: why use a broker at all when you could call the landlord yourself? The short answer is that the landlord's leasing team negotiates these deals every week and is working to secure terms in the landlord's favor, and in a tenant representation engagement their professional fee is customarily paid by the landlord either way. Going direct does not save you the fee. It removes the only party at the table working on your side of it.

This guide covers how to evaluate a commercial real estate brokerage firm in the Philippines: what to verify, how fees and representation work, what belongs in writing before work starts, and the questions that separate a firm that can execute from one that presents well. If you are still working out what a broker does, start with What Does a Commercial Real Estate Broker in the Philippines Actually Do?, which covers the RESA Law licensing framework and the full scope of the role.

Why Not Just Go to the Landlord Directly?

Because you would be negotiating against someone who does this every day, whose job is to secure the most favorable terms for the landlord, and who knows the comparables you do not. That is not a criticism of landlords. A leasing team is doing exactly what it is retained to do, which is why the occupier on the other side of the table needs someone doing the same for them. In a tenant representation engagement the professional fee is customarily paid by the landlord, so the occupier typically pays nothing directly for the advice.

Does Going Direct Save You the Fee?

Usually not. Landlords budget for brokerage as a standard cost of leasing space, and it is priced into asking rates whether or not a broker is involved in your particular deal. Going direct does not take the fee out of the transaction. It takes your advisor out and leaves the fee where it was.

Confirm it rather than assume it. Ask who pays the fee and when it is earned, and get the answer in the engagement letter. If a landlord does quote differently for an unrepresented tenant, the number to compare it against is not the asking rate. It is what a represented negotiation would have produced.

Three things you give up by approaching landlords yourself:

Comparables. A landlord will tell you what the building is worth. Only closed transaction data across competing buildings tells you what the market pays, and that is what sets your negotiating floor.
Off-market inventory. A significant share of Philippine commercial space never reaches a public listing. Quiet landlord repositioning, pre-lease inventory, space being given up before expiry, and off-market disposals circulate through professional networks first. If you are only calling buildings you can see, you are shopping a fraction of the market.
Competitive tension. A broker running several buildings against each other changes what any one landlord will concede. A single occupier calling a single leasing manager has no such leverage.

This holds even for a straightforward renewal in a building you already occupy. A renewal quote tends to look reasonable in isolation, and it only becomes possible to judge once you see what the same landlord is offering new tenants down the corridor, and what competing buildings would offer to win you. Having a second party review the terms is a check and balance, not an overhead. On a relocation or a five-year commitment, the asymmetry is wider still.

What Does a Commercial Real Estate Broker Actually Do?

A commercial real estate broker is not a middleman who forwards listings. Most of the work happens before you are shown a single option.

Define the requirement. Headcount and growth plans, operational needs, capital expenditure appetite, lease expiry, and internal approval path get translated into a specific brief. Space that suits a 24/7 operation is not the space that suits a hybrid workforce of the same headcount.
Read the market. Where vacancy sits in each submarket, what buildings are actually clearing at, what landlords are conceding right now, and what supply is arriving that changes your position in twelve months.
Evaluate options against the brief. Shortlists measured on net effective cost over the full term rather than quoted rent, with the trade-offs between buildings made explicit.
Set the negotiating strategy. Which buildings to run against each other, what to ask for first, and which concessions to hold in reserve.
Negotiate and document. Base rent, escalation, fit-out and rent-free periods, restoration and expansion rights, then the letter of intent, offer to lease, and lease agreement through to turnover.

Sending you options is the visible part and the smallest part. For the full scope of the role, including the RESA Law licensing framework and how commercial brokerage differs from residential, see What Does a Commercial Real Estate Broker in the Philippines Actually Do?.

What Should You Look for in a Commercial Real Estate Brokerage Firm?

Six things, in order: a verified current PRC license, specialization that matches your asset class, closed transaction evidence in your submarket, clarity on who the broker represents, commercial terms in writing, and a clearly defined scope of authority. Presentation quality is not on the list.

1. Verify the license

Confirm the PRC license number and that it is current. This takes minutes and removes an entire category of risk.

Verification is more straightforward with an established firm than with a freelance practitioner. A firm publishes its license details, can produce them on request, and stands behind the individual working your account. If something goes wrong, you have an accountable entity to raise it with rather than a single license holder who may have moved on.

2. Match specialization to asset class

Office leasing, industrial and logistics, investment sales, hotels and leisure, residential, valuation, and research and consultancy are genuinely different disciplines. Depth in one does not transfer automatically to another.

3. Ask for transaction evidence

Not a client logo wall. Recent, comparable, closed deals in your asset class and submarket.

The distinction matters more than it sounds. In the first half of 2026, Metro Manila accounted for 83% of national office take-up, with Makati City leading all districts at 106,000 sqm, equivalent to 138% of its 1H 2025 level. BGC followed at 61,000 sqm, then the Bay Area at 57,000 sqm and Quezon City at 56,000 sqm. Provincial markets contributed 84,000 sqm, at just 53% of their 1H 2025 level. Cebu remained the leading provincial hub at 31,100 sqm, ahead of Iloilo and Clark.

A firm with a strong Makati record may have closed almost nothing in Cebu, and vice versa. Ask where their deals happened, not just how many.

4. Clarify representation

Is the broker acting for you as tenant or buyer, or for the landlord or seller? Both are legitimate, but you should know which before you disclose your budget or timeline.

5. Get the commercial terms in writing

Fee, who pays it, when it is earned, and what happens if the requirement changes mid-process. Professional fees in the Philippine market follow established standard practice, and a firm that quotes well below it is usually signaling something about the service you will receive. What matters is that the terms are documented in the engagement letter or authority to lease, not agreed in a text thread.

6. Define the authority granted

An exclusive authority concentrates accountability with one firm and usually produces a more disciplined process and better market coverage. A non-exclusive arrangement spreads effort but can fragment negotiation and expose your pricing. Either way, fix the term, the territory, and the renewal conditions.

What Types of Brokerage Firms Operate in the Philippine Market?

Four broad types, each serving different interests:

Global network firms. Wide international reach and standardized reporting, useful for multinational occupiers running regional mandates.
Independent local consultancies. Deep Philippine market knowledge, direct access to senior decision-makers, faster turnaround, and advice not constrained by a regional playbook. Long-standing relationships with local landlords and developers also mean earlier sight of inventory and more room to negotiate on terms.
Developer-affiliated brokerages. Strong on their own inventory, with a primary duty that runs to the developer.
Individual licensed practitioners. Workable on small, straightforward requirements, with limited research and coverage on complex ones.

Match the firm type to the transaction, and be clear about whose interests each one serves.

How Much Does Reputation and Experience Actually Matter?

Reputation in commercial real estate is specific, not general. The firm's standing and the individual record of the person handling your account matter equally, and you should ask about both. A strong firm with an inexperienced lead on your file is as much of a risk as a capable broker with no platform behind them.

Ask directly:

How long has the firm operated, and through how many market cycles?
Who will actually handle the account, and what is their individual record?
Will the senior person who pitched still be involved after the engagement is signed?
Can they give references from clients in your asset class?

Longevity matters because Philippine property is cyclical, and the current cycle is a live demonstration. Office demand fell 32% year-on-year in 1H 2026, yet net demand held positive at 293,000 sqm because vacated space dropped 57%. Occupiers had largely finished right-sizing and chose to hold what they had. Meanwhile the active requirements pipeline stands at 353,000 sqm, led by IT-BPM at 155,000 sqm, with 20 live requirements above 5,000 sqm.

Reading that correctly, as deferred demand rather than lost demand, is the difference between advising a client to wait for better terms and advising them to move before the pipeline converts. Firms that worked through the 1997 crisis, the global financial crisis, the pandemic vacancy surge, and the offshore gaming correction have seen how deals and counterparties behave when conditions turn.

What Specialized Services Should a Firm Offer?

For any transaction of scale, the platform behind the broker matters as much as the broker. Look for in-house research, valuation and appraisal capability, project marketing, and dedicated tenant representation.

A firm that can value the asset, evidence its market position, and execute the transaction gives you one accountable line rather than three parties pointing at each other.

What Happens in the Initial Consultation?

The first meeting should be diagnostic. Expect the broker to ask about headcount and growth plans, operational requirements, capital expenditure appetite, lease expiry, approval process, and constraints before presenting anything.

If the first meeting is a building tour deck, the broker is not yet working on your problem.

Come prepared with your current lease or title documents, your decision timeline and internal approval path, and an honest view of your flexibility on location and term.

What Questions Should You Ask a Commercial Real Estate Broker?

Seven questions, before you sign anything:

What is your PRC license number?
Which comparable transactions have you closed in the last 18 months, and in which submarkets?
Are you representing me, the counterparty, or both, and how is that disclosed?
What is your fee, who pays it, and when is it earned?
What are the current comparables, and can I see the basis for your recommendation?
What is a realistic timeline, and what typically causes delay?
Who else on your team will work on this, and who is my point of contact?

How Do You Evaluate a Broker's Approach?

Three signals, in ascending order of importance:

Evidence. Are recommendations backed by transaction data and research, or by confidence and anecdote?

Process. Is there a defined search or marketing strategy, milestones, and a reporting cadence, or just a promise to revert?

Directness. Does the broker tell you what you do not want to hear? That your target rent is well below where that submarket is clearing. That your preferred building cannot support your power requirement. That the 6,000 sqm contiguous PEZA block you want in BGC exists in only a handful of buildings, and no new supply is entering Makati CBD or Ortigas until after 2028.

Directness is the strongest signal. A broker willing to challenge your assumptions early is protecting the transaction, not the relationship.

Key Points

Tenant representation is customarily landlord-paid, so going direct rarely saves the fee. It just removes your advisor.
Verify the PRC license, then match specialization to your asset class and submarket.
Ask for closed deals, not a logo wall, and ask where those deals happened.
Put fee, representation, and scope of authority in writing before work starts.
Judge the broker on evidence and directness, not presentation quality.

The right commercial real estate broker is not the one who agrees with your number. It is the one who can show you what the market actually supports, tell you plainly where your position is strong or weak, and then execute with discipline.

Leechiu Property Consultants is an independent Philippine real estate consultancy providing tenant and landlord representation, investment sales, valuation, research, and advisory across office, industrial, hotels and leisure, and residential markets. All market figures cited are from our 1H 2026 Philippine Property Market Report. Talk to us about your requirement at inquire@leechiu.com.