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April '26 Newsletter

Announcements
Congratulations, Tony Cai, on receiving your CCIM Designation at the 2026 Spring Forum!

Tony Cai, CCIM, is a Memphis-based real estate broker specializing in landlord representation and investment sales. A first-generation immigrant who came to the United States at age 16 without speaking English, Tony's career has been shaped by discipline, resilience, and a strong commitment to growth.
"Real estate has given me the opportunity to build a career, serve others, and grow both personally and professionally. Earning the CCIM designation is an important milestone in my career, and I look forward to giving back to the CCIM organization., contributing to its mission, and helping more brokers earn their own CCIM designation."
Along the way, Tony has been blessed with incredible mentors and colleagues who generously shared their knowledge, encouragement, and guidance. He would like to especially thank Brian Califf, CCIM, J. Max Hamidi, CCIM, J.C. McKinnon, CCIM, Cherie Ganesh, CCIM, Shawn Massey, CCIM, and James McCraw, CCIM, for their support and help along this path.
Outside of real estate, Tony is also grateful for the opportunity to serve as Vice President at the Mid-South Chinese Chamber of Commerce. He is passionate about building bridges within both the business and real estate communities.
Next time you see Tony, congratulate him on receiving his CCIM designation!

Welcome New Members

Welcome to our new members!
Current members: we are looking to feature YOU on our newsletters and social media channels! If interested, please submit this form with your headshot, bio, and a quote about what CCIM means to you for consideration.

Sponsor Spotlight
John Bobango, Partner at Phelps, has significant experience designing capital and advantageous tax structures that leverage the clients’ financial position and growth opportunities. He has broad experiences in the following areas:
- Mergers and acquisitions
- Private securities offerings, both debt and equity
- Recapitalizations
- Early and late-stage investment
- Commercial agreements
- Executive and employer compensation arrangements
- Secondary mortgage market transactions
Bobango advises private companies, private equity firms and venture capital firms, including their portfolio companies, in a wide range of industries. He also has broad experience in representing startups, later-stage and established companies. Clients trust and rely on John’s practical and strategic counsel through every phase of the business’s lifecycle, from formation, capital raise, strategic alliances and business operations to mergers and acquisitions.

Calendar of Events
'26-'27 TREC Core Commercial Course
April 30, 9am-4pm
This comprehensive course provides commercial real estate professionals with a timely and practical update on the evolving regulatory landscape and core operational practices required for success in today’s market.
CE Credit: 6 hours
Click here for other upcoming educational offerings.

Classes & CE
- CI 103: October 13–16 (Register here.)
- Negotiations: October 12 (Register here.)
CI 103: User Decision Analysis for Commercial Investment Real Estate
Linking a company's enterprise-level goals with their real estate strategy is key to offering the right space solution. Whether an investor, operator, or a broker, it's important to approach real estate problems from the perspective of the user/occupant. In CI 103, you'll learn such advanced skills as how to perform a comparative lease analysis between competing assets, analyze a sale-leaseback to help a client generate capital from their owned real estate, and advise a client on a lease vs. purchase decision to facilitate an expansion.
Incorporating the CCIM Decision-Making Model and the CCIM Communications/Negotiations Model, CI 103 explores new concepts regarding user discount rate selection, such as using multiple rates for some occupancy decisions based on perception of risk related to the various occupancy cash flows.
After completing this course, you will be able to:
- apply key occupancy decision-making skills such as comparative lease analysis, lease vs. purchase analysis, lease buyout analysis, and sale-leaseback analysis to optimize user space decisions;
- determine how the financial reporting requirements for real estate influence user decisions; and
integrate negotiation skills with financial analysis skills to maximize user outcomes.
Register for CI 103 in Memphis by clicking here.
Negotiations
This course is worth 8 credit hours for the Introduction to Commercial Real Estate Certificate.
Successful commercial real estate transactions depend on strong negotiation skills. Commercial Real Estate Negotiations teaches professionals how to apply the CCIM Interest-Based Negotiations Model, helping them navigate complex deals with confidence and strategy. By shifting away from outdated high/low bargaining tactics, this course provides a structured, three-step process to secure better outcomes while maintaining strong relationships with clients and stakeholders.
In an evolving market where every deal requires strategic collaboration, understanding how to balance competing interests while maintaining leverage is crucial. This course provides real-world negotiation techniques that help professionals overcome common deal obstacles, communicate value, and close transactions efficiently.
Key Takeaways:
- Understand Negotiation Dynamics – Identify key players in a negotiation and uncover what they truly need to reach an agreement.
- Develop Win-Win Strategies – Learn how to meet the interests of all parties without sacrificing your own objectives.
- Overcome Deal Roadblocks – Navigate challenges and address objections in a principled and transparent manner.
- Enhance Your Communication Skills – Effectively communicate the consequences of not reaching an agreement to strengthen your position.
- Maintain a Collaborative Approach – Build long-term relationships by negotiating with professionalism and confidence.

STDB Report
CCIM members now have a smarter way to turn market uncertainty into strategy with the CRE Performance Index Forecast Dashboard inside Site To Do Business. Introduced by CCIM instructor and investor Mark Cypert, CCIM, this powerful tool transforms the dashboards’ proven economic intelligence into clear, 12-month forecasts for vacancy, rent, and cap rates across major property sectors —backed by 10 rigorously tested leading indicators and a transparent, two-phase forecasting model. From scenario analysis and sector outlooks to narrative insights you can use in underwriting, proposals, and client conversations, the CRE Performance Index gives brokers and investors a credible alternative to “black box” data and a true data-driven edge. With metro-level forecasting for 110 U.S. markets coming soon, now is the time to log into STDB and start using the CRE Performance Index to inform smarter, more confident CRE decisions.
Please click here to read this STDB Ambassador Report.

Sponsors
We are grateful to every sponsor of our CCIM Chapter for 2026!
We encourage you to seek the above sponsors FIRST in any of your commercial real estate deals and needs.


