Burland Commercial

What Burland Commercial does

Burland Commercial is a boutique independent commercial real estate brokerage founded in 2013 by Josh Burland, exclusively representing tenants and buyers across San Diego County. The firm deliberately avoids landlord representation, eliminating dual-agency conflicts and aligning its compensation with client outcomes. Operating from a Downtown San Diego headquarters (402 West Broadway #400) and a Carlsbad satellite office (1902 Wright Place), the firm delivers site selection, lease negotiation, property acquisition, renewal, and relocation services across three core verticals: office (traditional, creative, medical, flex, lab), industrial (warehouse, manufacturing, distribution), and retail.

The firm's revenue model is commission-based: it does not charge fees directly to tenant or buyer clients but earns commissions from landlords and sellers upon successful transactions. There is no proprietary technology, no AI/ML capability, no data product, and no SaaS or platform component — the offering is entirely human-delivered brokerage expertise. The founder's prior experience as an industrial leasing agent representing institutional property owners, during which he leased over 1 million square feet of San Diego industrial space, is positioned as the firm's principal differentiator, supplying insider market intelligence on landlord concession strategies and negotiation tactics.

The go-to-market motion is selective, relationship-driven enterprise field sales: Josh Burland provides direct, personalized service to a roster that the firm describes as spanning startups to Fortune 500 companies, though disclosed customer logos skew heavily toward SMBs across fitness, brewery, retail, healthcare, industrial, and professional services verticals. Marketing channels are limited to organic social (LinkedIn, Twitter), Yelp-driven referral/social proof (5.0 rating across 28 reviews), and a blog with San Diego market insights. Nicole Lauren serves as Director of Business Development. The firm has no disclosed funding rounds, no parent company, no acquisitions, and no technology investments — consistent with a founder-owned, lifestyle-scaled boutique brokerage.

Name

Burland Commercial

Legal name

Burland Commercial Real Estate

Website

https://burlandcre.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Boutique San Diego commercial real estate brokerage exclusively representing tenants and buyers in office, industrial, and retail transactions across San Diego County since 2013, earning commissions from landlords and sellers in a conflict-free model.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Commercial Real Estate Brokerage Services

NAICS

Real Estate and Rental and Leasing (53)

SIC

Real Estate Agents & Managers (For Others) (6531)

akta.pro primary industry

Tenant Representation & Corporate Services Brokerage (BPAJABAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Retail Tenant Representation (BPAJALAB)

Keywords

• Tenant representation services
• Buyer representation services
• Commercial real estate brokerage
• Site selection services
• Lease negotiation services

Headquarters

HQ city

San Diego

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Commission-based Representation: Burland Commercial represents tenants and buyers exclusively in commercial real estate transactions. The firm earns commissions from landlords and property owners upon successful lease or purchase transactions, rather than charging fees directly to tenant/buyer clients. This conflict-free model eliminates dual agency while aligning the firm's success with client outcomes.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Burland Commercial is a San Diego commercial real estate brokerage that exclusively represents tenants and buyers in lease and purchase transactions. Services span site selection, lease negotiation, lease renewal, and property acquisition across retail, industrial, and office sectors throughout San Diego County. The firm operates on a conflict-free model, declining landlord representation so that its advocacy is undivided and its commissions are paid by landlords and sellers rather than by tenant/buyer clients.

Product overview

Burland Commercial is a San Diego commercial real estate brokerage offering a unified suite of exclusive tenant and buyer representation services. The core offering comprises tenant representation and buyer representation for retail, industrial, and office space throughout San Diego County. The company provides site selection, lease negotiation, and property acquisition services across three specialized sub-products: Retail Space Services, Industrial Space Services, and Office Space Services. These services are delivered through a conflict-free model that exclusively represents tenants and buyers, never landlords.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Tenant & Buyer Representation Services

Quantifiable outcome

• Secured below-market sublease rate for 5,665 sq ft industrial/flex space in Miramar
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers38 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves3 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Regional players

• NAI Capital: Southern California-focused commercial real estate brokerage affiliated with NAI Global. Provides tenant representation, sales, and leasing services competing with Burland in the San Diego market.
• Kidder Mathews: Western U.S. commercial real estate firm with offices in California. Offers tenant and buyer representation services, competing for similar client types across office and industrial asset classes.
• Lee & Associates: Privately held commercial real estate brokerage with strong Southern California presence including San Diego. Offers tenant and landlord representation, competing for the same mid-market client pool as Burland.

Broad incumbents

• CBRE: World's largest commercial real estate services firm, where Josh Burland previously worked. Competes in San Diego tenant representation while also offering landlord, capital markets, and property management services.
• Newmark: Full-service commercial real estate advisory firm with tenant representation capabilities in San Diego County. Competes for office and industrial mandates with broader geographic reach.
• JLL: Global commercial real estate services firm offering tenant representation across office, industrial, and retail in San Diego. Competes on larger enterprise mandates with broader service portfolio than Burland.
• Colliers: Global commercial real estate services and investment management firm with San Diego presence providing tenant and buyer representation, capital markets, and valuation services.
• Cushman & Wakefield: Global full-service CRE firm with active San Diego tenant representation practice. Competes for mid-market and enterprise tenant mandates alongside landlord representation services.

Direct peers

• Hughes Marino: Privately held, exclusively tenant and buyer representation firm based in Southern California. Closest direct comparable to Burland given overlapping San Diego market, similar conflict-free model, and mid-market focus.
• CRESA: Largest exclusively tenant-representation commercial real estate firm in North America. Direct competitor to Burland's exclusive tenant/buyer rep model, serving corporate occupiers with conflict-free brokerage services across multiple markets.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/in/joshua-burland-7b60a723
• Xx.com/burlandcre

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Burland Commercial