At CREi Summit 2025 in Palm Desert, Kristian sits down with Heather Boren, founder of Estate Match Realty and adjunct professor of real estate finance at Pepperdine University. After years on the institutional landlord side, Heather saw just how underrepresented most business owners and tenants are when they sign leases—and built a boutique brokerage to flip that script. In this episode, she shares how she matches clients to the right asset class, why retail and office deals demand true creativity, and how your reputation, Rolodex, and digital footprint can quietly make or break every CRE opportunity.
🎧 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3S3d4pv9QuVsc0nqff2JS1
▶️ Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDbHGj2iVMY
Key Takeaways From The Episode
- Tenants walk in unrepresented. Heather spent years on the institutional landlord side watching business owners ask the wrong person for advice—proof of how often tenants show up without a true advocate.
- Match the business to the asset class. Instead of forcing every client into retail or office, Heather starts with the operator’s needs and picks the asset class that actually fits their model.
- Retail deals demand creativity. No two retail transactions look alike—co-tenancy, visibility, signage, and use restrictions make strategy more important than square footage.
- Solo doesn’t mean isolated. Heather collaborates with other experienced independents instead of managing junior agents, avoiding the overhead and distraction of running a team.
- Reputation + Rolodex = leverage. Her institutional experience “paid her to learn,” letting her build credibility with brokers, investors, and owners years before launching her own shop.
- Underwriting saves money. Argus and financial modeling turn guesswork into green-light/red-light clarity—helping clients avoid bad deals long before emotions get involved.
- Teaching sharpens the craft. As a Pepperdine adjunct, Heather stays close to the next generation of CRE talent, giving unbiased guidance on roles, paths, and how to break into the industry.
- Social media expands your market. Using Instagram and LinkedIn to highlight deals and business owners creates a digital footprint that stretches her reach far beyond LA.
