Five Questions with Karen Thomas, CCIM

Karen Thomas, CCIM, was recently elected to serve a two-year term on CALV’s Board of Directors, starting in 2024. A longtime local commercial real estate broker, she is the managing director and senior vice president of commercial brokerage services at KW Commercial/Keller Williams VIP in Las Vegas.

To get to know her better, we asked her five fast questions:

How long have you been involved with CALV?

• I joined CALV as soon as I learned about its existence. I have always been passionate about education, professional standards and expertise and being part of the organizations that promote and support them.

What prompted you to join CALV and get more involved?

• CALV uniquely unites the Southern Nevada commercial real estate industry throughout various professional organizations, including BOMA, IREM, CCIM, SIOR, CREW, NAIOP, The Appraisal Institute and NVSAA. Working together, these professional organizations through our alliance will continue to build and strengthen our commercial real estate industry.

What’s your favorite part of your job?

• The favorite facets of my leadership roles in CRE and as a professional commercial practitioner are working with other professionals to arrive at the best possible solutions for my clients and to help others in my organization and industry to excel in our industry. We are a small, tight-knit community and it is a true pleasure to work with my counterparts throughout the various brokerages and specialties to meet common goals.

What’s the biggest issue facing the commercial real estate industry today?

• We are amid difficult economic realities with the cost and availability of capital. This truth is coupled with tightening lending standards and/or reluctance to lend for CRE projects. There are approximately $2.81 trillion in CRE loans maturing in the next four years, and the uncertainty of interest rates, coupled with property valuations, will require creativity and tenacity for CRE practitioners.

What’s one thing most people would be surprised to know about you?

• I earned my first real estate license 38 years ago, moved to Northern Nevada in 2005 and transitioned into commercial real estate 17 years ago. My CRE experience includes (serving as) operations director for a major regional commercial developer, senior advisor at Sperry Van Ness and years managing a national leasing portfolio for a national public company before moving to Southern Nevada and returning to brokerage in 2015.
• Fun fact: When I met my husband, I told him that he “checked all of the boxes,” except he needed to learn to play golf. He said, “You’re kidding.” Well, I wasn’t. We now enjoy golfing together, both here at our home course and when we travel. It’s our favorite pastime!