One of Maine’s largest commercial real estate firms, Portland-based The Boulos Co. employs more than 35 people in Maine and its offices in Portsmouth and Manchester, N.H. It is known for selling and leasing commercial real estate throughout Maine. 

Boulos has promoted Jessica Estes, 46, to be its new president starting on Oct. 1. Estes is a company veteran, joining Boulos in 2003. According to the company’s website, she has held “many leadership and brokerage roles” in the company. A Maine native, she now lives in Falmouth.

Estes recently discussed with Spectrum News her new role and the future of commercial real estate in Maine.

Q) Did you know when you took the position that you’d be the first woman in this role in the company’s history?

A) Yes! Since I started in 2003, we’ve had three company leaders, all of them male. I was the first female to be made Partner in 2012, and am presently the only female independent contractor as well. I will continue to operate in my role as a broker as my primary job. Fortunately there’s a fantastic operations team here to handle day-to-day responsibilities.

Q) Does this fact change how your approach your new position?

A) No. I don’t think of myself as woman in business, I think of myself as a businessperson and salesperson who happens to identify as female. I would love to operate in a world where everyone is in jobs that match their competencies and passion regardless of gender.

Q) How do you think the commercial real estate business has weathered the pandemic? Do you think things have returned to some semblance of “normal” yet?

A) Every sector of commercial real estate has experienced the pandemic in different ways. In our market, industrial and even retail is performing well. The office sector will likely continue to experience some disruption over the next few years. Some older office product will be repurposed into housing, but it remains to be seen what percentage of office workers will return. We won’t be able to forecast demand for some time.

Q) What if anything do you think has changed about commercial real estate permanently in recent years? What is the most notable part of the “new normal” that the industry needs to get used to?

A) It seems nothing changes permanently, but right now the new normal is higher interest rates which obviously has an effect on how much buyers can spend for buildings. For the time being, fewer people in downtown core who are working every day, so that impacts all the restaurants and other businesses that rely on daytime workers as customers. The labor shortage is likely to stick around for a while, and until businesses can find more employees, they can’t expand. If they can’t expand, they don’t need more space, which depresses demand. Listing brokers, landlords and sellers need to be creative in this market to attract and retain tenants/buyers.  

Q) What do you see in the future for your company? Any big changes planned?

A) Our company is strong because of our people. I don’t plan to make any big changes, but I will focus on making our people feel appreciated and recognize that they are the reason for our success and share in that. I am so proud of how everyone has pulled together to overcome the challenges brought on by the pandemic, and how we’ve supported our clients through their own uncertain times. This will always be a relationship business and the strength of our core values — Integrity, Respect, Passion, Balance, Excellence and Collaboration — will be at the forefront of our minds when we are faced with whatever the future brings. Finally, I plan to recruit more women in producer roles!