ABOUT RICK CHATHAM
Commercial Real Estate Advice Built Around Better Decisions
Rick Chatham, MBA is a Senior Associate with Lee & Associates | San Diego, focusing on medical and dental office properties, office condominiums, owner-user transactions, leasing and investment sales throughout San Diego County.
His approach combines traditional brokerage representation with detailed financial analysis, market research and practical due diligence, helping clients evaluate not only whether a property works today, but whether the economics and long-term strategy make sense.
Rick Chatham, MBA
Senior Associate
Lee & Associates | San Diego
Member Associate, Society of Industrial and Office Realtors
A More Analytical Approach to Brokerage
Rick’s specialization developed through years of working with medical, dental, veterinary, and other owner-user clients in San Diego, particularly on office acquisitions, sales, leasing, and office condominium transactions. He found that these clients often need much more than someone who can simply find available space.
Medical and owner-user real estate decisions can require careful analysis of zoning, parking, buildout costs, specialized infrastructure, financing, property value and long-term exit strategy. Those issues can materially affect whether a property works operationally and financially.
Rick’s approach is to combine traditional brokerage representation with detailed financial analysis, market knowledge and practical due diligence. The goal is to help clients understand the economics and risks clearly so they can evaluate not just whether a property works today, but whether it remains a sound real estate decision over time.
The Goal Is Better-Informed Real Estate Decisions
Rather than treating a transaction as simply a search for available space or a negotiation over price, Rick helps clients evaluate the broader real estate strategy behind the decision.
Areas of Focus
Rick’s practice is centered on San Diego commercial real estate assignments where property-level analysis, owner-user economics and practical due diligence are especially important.
1031 exchange, tax, legal and financing matters should be reviewed with the appropriate qualified advisors.
Medical & Dental Office Real Estate
Comprehensive representation for healthcare professionals, clinical groups and developers seeking tailored property solutions in the San Diego market.
Office Condominiums
Specialized advisory for the acquisition and disposition of individual office units, focusing on association governance, financial feasibility and ownership structure.
Owner-User Acquisitions & Dispositions
Strategic guidance for business owners balancing operational requirements with long-term real estate investment and tax strategies.
Commercial Leasing & Property Evaluation
Tenant and landlord representation backed by property-level economic analysis, market benchmarking and lease structure optimization.
Investment Sales & Transaction Strategy
Facilitating commercial sales with a focus on investment yield, risk mitigation and rigorous transactional due diligence.
Professional Background & Industry Involvement
Rick combines commercial real estate brokerage experience with a business and analytical background that shapes how he approaches property decisions, negotiations and transaction strategy.
Lee & Associates | San Diego
Senior Associate specializing in medical, owner-user and investment property transactions throughout San Diego County. Representing clinical groups, business owners and property investors.
Society of Industrial and Office Realtors
Member Associate, Society of Industrial and Office Realtors. SIOR is a leading professional commercial and industrial real estate association, with members who meet rigorous requirements for production, experience and ethical standards.
Industry Education & Technology
Master of Business Administration (MBA). Dedicated to using advanced market technology, CRM tools and analytical software to enhance data quality and transaction transparency for clients.
Commercial Real Estate Continues to Evolve
Rick believes that technology and better access to information can improve the quality of real estate analysis, but they do not replace market knowledge, judgment or experienced representation. His goal is to use these tools to help clients ask better questions and make better-informed decisions.
Selected Articles & Industry Commentary
Rick contributes to industry conversations around commercial real estate, technology and artificial intelligence through professional organizations, industry publications and his own writing.
SIOR Pulse | 2026 / Quoted Industry Contributor
A look at how large language models and vision-based AI are changing how brokers and office tenants qualify spaces and analyze location dynamics before the touring process begins.
SIOR Report | Spring 2025 / Contributing Member
Discussing the intersection of building automation, IoT, and property values in the office sector, highlighting how smart systems are moving from an amenity to a baseline financial requirement.
SIOR Report | Spring 2024 / Contributing Member
Practical guidance for real estate professionals on integrating accessible AI tools into data entry, marketing, and market search workflows to reduce administrative friction.
LinkedIn | 2026 / By Rick Chatham, MBA
An exploration of data ownership in commercial real estate, examining how proprietary information is controlled and how clients can maintain better transparency of their own market data.
Additional market analysis, transaction insights and practical guidance will be published in the Insights section of this site.