CEO Letter
Our mission remains to provide superior service and performance to our clients who own the properties we manage and to everyone who lives and works in those properties. We achieve our goal through the talented team of professionals who comprise our company.
Recently, we hosted our annual Leadership Summit. The summit brought over one hundred managers together to exchange ideas on how we can maintain excellence among all our team members and best attract individuals with passion and professionalism to join our company. When I am with our people, I am always proud and impressed by their thoughtfulness and commitment.
2026 is off to a positive start for the properties we manage. Our multifamily properties boast strong occupancy although modest rent growth thus far. With limited new construction and continued solid rental demand we are optimistic this will be an exceptional year. Our commercial properties are also off to a positive start. In general, occupancy is stable, but some property types and submarkets continue to be challenging. As mentioned elsewhere in this newsletter, we are observing more optimism in the commercial leasing community than in the past few years. However, significant available inventory still needs to be absorbed.
Looking ahead, we are hopeful for constructive progress worldwide and inspired by the ways AI is helping our communities create opportunities and sustainable growth.
Leadership Summit 2026
“Customer Service is Our Business."
Woodmont’s team leaders completed problem-solving drills while evaluating resumes and discussing interviewing tactics and questions.
In March Woodmont Real Estate Services hosted its annual Leadership Summit that included more than 100 employees in managerial positions from all aspects of the firm’s business --corporate office, property management, leasing, maintenance and facility services.
Jeff Bosshard launched the going by saying “We Are in the Customer Service Business.”
The company’s executive management team, comprised of CEO Ron Granville, President Multifamily Operations Jeff Bosshard (pictured above), President Commercial Operations Scott Pritchett and Senior Vice President Multifamily Operations Jerrid Vannelli led a panel discussion moderated by Christian Virtusio (VP of Learning).
Their topic focused on hiring and interviewing, which was a natural extension of the 2025 Leadership Summit theme of effective communication. Since property management remains a people-based business and Woodmont’s core offering is service, hiring the right people to serve others is paramount to the customer experience component of Woodmont’s business.
Jeff said he pays attention to the body language of the candidate, and the tone of the job interview offers insights to the candidate’s qualifications and compatibility with the applicant’s potential role with the company. He also said optimizing shared data and reviewing the notes of others involved in the interview of the same candidate makes for a better interview; it also ensures that secondary interviews get to questions that may have been overlooked by previous interviewers.
Ron Granville made a point about first impressions and how much they matter when meeting someone for the first time – especially if the purpose of the meeting is for a job interview, by wearing a Hawaiian shirt, shorts and flip flops. In other words, how not to dress for success! He also picked up a little cash on the dare (bet) wagered by Scott and Jeff that he wouldn’t do it. Note: he started the morning donning professional attire and changed back into it after the panel discussion!
Scott (on left) mentioned that they spend more time listening during interviews than talking.
The panel discussed the importance of adhering to structured interviews, so each job candidate can be evaluated similarly. Structure is also important to job interviews because it allows the interviewer to rely less on instinct. However, the panel did agree that instinct can play a valuable role during interviews but is only valid if structure was maintained.
During the discussion, it became overtly apparent that company culture, which was developed over five decades as a third-party management business, remains a foundational centerpiece.
Woodmont seeks people that value teamwork, communication and a strong desire to deliver exceptional customer service.
Jerrid (above, right) specifically mentioned company culture in the context of hiring and interviewing, noting that the new hires will participate in shaping the company culture going forward. He also stressed the importance of meticulously preparing for the interview as well as taking detailed notes during the interview.
Talent Acquisitions Manager Harold “Eli” Stephens delivered a dynamic talk on hiring and methods to get the most out of interviews. He touched on interviewing scorecards, the importance of structured interviews, what strong hiring ownership looks like, what’s next after interviews and tips for successful interviews.
One of which cannot be overlooked.
“Ensure you are discussing the logistics/compensation with candidates at least once during interviews…to make sure everyone is on the same page.”
“You don’t want to invest much time with a candidate looking for a million-dollar job when the compensation will not be remotely close to that figure,” he said.
Apartments.com, Sherwin-Williams and ProFloors sponsored the Leadership Summit.
The event was held at the Devil’s Canyon Brewing Company in San Carlos.
Multifamily Market News
The Sobrato Organization Celebrates the Opening of The Millton with a Ribbon Cutting Event
L-R: TSO SVP of Community Impact & Systems Change Camille Llanes-Fontanilla, TSO CEO Tony Mestres, Redwood City Mayor Elmer Martinez Saballos, San Mateo County Supervisor Lisa Gauthier, Housing Leadership Council Executive Director Evelyn Stivers
Woodmont is pleased to announce that its newest multifamily account – The Millton in Redwood City, with 120 apartment homes, consists entirely of below market rate rents ranging from 30% and 80% of the region’s Area Medium Income requirements that will be monitored by the City of Redwood City.
Developed by The Sobrato Organization (TSO), The Millton represents the affordable housing component of a larger, mixed-use development called Broadway Village. The new market rate community, The Colton, will feature 398 apartment homes (also managed by Woodmont), and approximately 11,052 square feet of retail suites, plus 10,048 square feet for a childcare center.
The Colton is under construction with first units expected to be delivered in the third quarter this year.
The Sobrato Organization’s relatively new focus on affordable housing is a shift for the iconic developer, which is best known for building some of Silicon Valley’s largest and in some cases, famous campuses, such as Apple, Nvidia, Netflix, EMC, VeriSign, Facebook and Amazon.
From its inception, the Sobrato family business has developed 21.4 million square feet of commercial space, according to the San Francisco Chronicle article that reported on The Millton’s ribbon cutting ceremony and grand opening in late March.
The Millton is TSO’s first ground-up affordable housing community and is part of the developer’s intention to introduce TSO’s Housing Security Initiative.
Nearly 1,300 people have already applied for housing at The Millton, where rents for one-bedrooms range from $1,028 to $3,004, the Chronicle reported. The community also offers studios, two-bedroom and three-bedroom apartment homes.
Located at 900 Chestnut Street, Redwood City, Woodmont attendees at the ceremony included Jeff Bosshard, CPM,® President, Multifamily Operations, and Michelle Widjaja, VP Marketing and Education.
In related Woodmont news, Ayonna Peoples has joined the company as the firm’s Compliance Manager with a focus on below-market rate (BMR) housing. Her hiring strengthens the Woodmont’s below market rate housing services.
Of the 100+ multifamily communities managed by Woodmont, currently 19 of them include BMR apartments.
Commercial Corner
AI, Trampolines. and Flight to Safety for Commercial Real Estate Investing Send Silicon Valley Back into Positive Territory
Scott Pritchett, CPM,® President, Commercial Operations, Woodmont Real Estate Services
The overwhelming theme of the BOMA 2026 Silicon Valley annual meeting was that a vastly improved commercial real estate market from the post-pandemic doldrums is set to become even stronger.
For example:
“Despite the Amazon effect of retail sales shifting to online from an in-store experience, that trend seems to have stalled, with online sales accounting for 15% of total retail sales volume, or about where it has been in recent years.”
That’s positive news for retail real estate and retail property owners, and it is good for consumers and even tenant rep retail brokers, as the demand for in-store shopping fuels the pipeline for new retailers to come to the region.
“With every (up) cycle, the newly emerged technology of that era has always generated growth and that’s what’s happening now with AI – it is driving the market.”
At the close of 2025, tenant demand for office/R&D space in Silicon Valley totaled 10.4 million square feet of, or the most since late in 2019.
Moreover, AI-based companies are expected to lease 2 million square feet in San Francisco alone in 2026 and bring AI occupancy to 9.1 million square feet. That compares with as little as 2.6 million square feet in 2022.
Related, and in a reversal from tech companies flooding the market with sublease space post-pandemic, Google plans to pull back near 2 million square feet of sublease space in Silicon Valley. This represents a clear sign of surging employment growth – and more demand for office/R&D space.
“Money is flowing back into commercial real estate as an asset class again, with investment markets increasingly skittish about over-valued stocks and the risk of rising inflation from the Iran war.”
In other words, we’ve seen this “flight to safety” during other turbulent times when real estate once again looks like a safe bet to park some money, albeit at risk adjusted, lower returns in exchange for the safety.
The quotes are from the following speakers, in this order:
- Mike Conroy, Executive Director, The Econic Company
- Bryte Bellotti, Managing Director, JLL
- Gene Williams, Managing Director, Valbridge Property Appraisers
Other trends and facts from the BOMA event, which once again was held at The Westin in San Jose.
Retail
The overall vacancy rate hovers at 5.2%, “yet it feels like 1% - 2%,” said Conroy.
The biggest drivers of retail demand are coming from mainstream grocery chains, ethnic food stores, franchises, fitness centers and specialty gyms and what Conroy referred to as “Medtail,” or a hybrid word for the increase in medical service providers in retail shopping centers and strip mall, including new healthcare providers, such as IV therapy stores – in addition to dentists and urgent care providers.
Conroy probably generated the best laugh at the conference during the “predictions” segment of the event toward the end, when he forecasted the “trampoline apocalypse,” and jokingly said we “could see one million new trampoline facilities by year end.”
Office/R&D
No new office development deliveries are expected this year or next – a market fact that should drive positive gross and likely net absorption through 2027. And then expect a steep incline in deliverables from 2028 – 2031.
The Bay Area’s office vacancy rate is expected to drop 100 basis point this year, fueled by elevated tenant demand in both San Francisco and Silicon Valley markets.
Even in a market still defined by uncertainty, February 2026 offered a glimmer of encouragement for the U.S. office sector. According to Yardi's CommercialCafe, national office vacancy averaged 17.6% that month—a two-percentage-point improvement from a year earlier. The decline suggests some long-awaited stabilization, though an elevated vacancy rate underscores how far the recovery remains from a more balanced market with vacancy rates ranging from 10% to 15%.
Silicon Valley office leasing volume reached 5.4 million square feet in 2025. That’s more than twice the volume in 2020 when the pandemic hit, with 2.34 million square feet of leasing volume.
AI continues to push growth in employment. Job postings for in-office workers increased 8% in the past year, while job postings for remote work declined 7% during the same period.
“Some 60% of Silicon Valley leasing is R&D space (only 40% office) because these properties combine talent with maker space and funding all under one roof,” Bellotti said.
Reinforcing her point, Bellotti showed a slide that forecast more than 1.5 million square feet of R&D space to be taken by robotics and drone companies in 2026.
Economy and Valuations
While the Federal Reserve works towards its two primary responsibilities – spur employment growth and maintain low interest rates, the incoming Fed chairman (Jerome Powell retires later this year) “is probably going to drop rates and stimulate the economy, making me wonder if this is QE2”, said Williams. That was a reference to the U.S. Central Bank’s previous periods of quantitative easing, an unconventional monetary policy where a central bank purchases financial assets to increase money supply, lower interest rates and stimulate economic activity.
The economic malice from the President’s tariffs policies has been less significant than predicted.
Interest rates for commercial loans are now in the low-to-mid 6% range.
During the Q&A period, one question was asked about the status of the so-called “extend and pretend” practice in which lenders have been routinely extending loan terms and “pretending” lending rates would drop and valuations would increase – which has not happened. Scott Pritchett responded that “banks simply do not want to own real estate, so they continue to work with borrowers to find solutions when loans come due, in some cases demanding more equity investment on the loan from the borrower. But even then, we are seeing some foreclosures and will likely continue to see some here and there.”
Despite the problematic legacy loans, Williams explained that loans for property investment are easier to obtain than they have been in recent years.
He also noted that data center construction is up nationally 400% since 2021, which is no surprise given the growth in AI.
Pritchett wrapped up the meeting with his usual nuggets of wisdom.
Woodmont New Teammates
Woodmont Real Estate Services continues to expand and to support this growth, the firm has recently added and promoted several new Regional Property Managers.
Oscar Beteta was promoted to Regional Property Manager, overseeing a portfolio of multifamily properties in the Bay Area.
Oscar’s career in the multifamily housing industry exemplifies dedication, leadership, and consistent pursuit of excellence over the past 15 years. Before joining Woodmont, Oscar began his career as a Property Administrative Assistant in 2011 and has since risen through the ranks. Prior to his promotion, Oscar held multiple leadership positions, starting with his first Property Manager role in 2014 overseeing a multi-site portfolio for the Felson Companies. Woodmont assumed management of the Felson portfolio in 2022.
Carla Hart has joined the company as a Regional Property Manager.
Carla oversees property management teams including onsite managers, leasing professionals and maintenance technicians in Napa, Contra Costa, Alameda and Marin counties. Prior to joining Woodmont, she served as a Regional Portfolio Manager with FPI Management in Folsom, California, overseeing daily operations, leasing and maintenance teams, annual budgets, mentoring and training new and existing staff, and maximizing the client’s return on investment.
Denis Melnichenko has joined the company as a Regional Property Manager.
Denis manages teams of onsite managers, leasing professionals, and maintenance technicians at multifamily communities primarily located on the San Francisco Peninsula and Silicon Valley. Prior to joining Woodmont, Denis was with Acclaim Companies, a boutique property management firm based in Menlo Park. Earlier, he served in a variety of property management roles with Essex Property Trust, a leading multifamily real estate investment trust (REIT).