Office · Tenant repIn progress
$30M+
in TI and incentives identified to add competitive value
Start with your situation
What's your next move?
Trusted by Houston's leading organizations
The Robertson Partners app · a first in commercial real estate
Watch your deal happen.
Watch your deal happen.
In real time.
No other brokerage gives its clients an app. Robertson Partners is the first with a client-facing app, so you see what we're working on the moment we're working on it: every step, every action, every document, every date. That is what the most responsive, most intelligent service in the business looks like.
- Nothing in the darkProposals, counters, tours and landlord replies post as they happen, with a note from James on what's next.
- One connected systemWebsite, app and data library as one, with every published data point on every office and industrial building in Texas behind them, scrubbed and analyzed around the clock.
- Leverage before the first callLoan maturities, vacancy exposure and landlord motivation, read before we sit down and shown to you.
- Current the same dayWhen the market moves, we know, and so do you. The most current firm in Houston.
- Live deal progress
- Every broker action
- All your documents
- Critical dates
- Market and building data
- Share with your team
You'll see it in your first meeting. Guaranteed.
See it live in 30 minutesOpen a sample portal ↗
Houston market pulse · updated quarterly
Landlords are losing. Here's what that means for your lease.
2014 · 11.6%2019 · 18.9%2026 · 26.9%
26.9%Downtown office vacancy, a recordUp 15 points since 2014 and the highest on record. One in four downtown square feet is empty, and landlords are competing for you.
Cushman & Wakefield, Q3 2026 · history: CoStar12–18moFree rent on offer
Real money, not deferred rent. Your negotiating floor, if you know to ask.
$60–90/SFBuild-out allowance
Landlords are funding full build-outs to fill empty floors.
#1in the U.S.Office loan defaults
Houston leads the country in a record wave of defaults. Distressed landlords make deals.
From the show
Who's on your deal
Real experts. Plus an agentic layer no other firm has.
Three people you'll know by name, and four agentic team members working behind them around the clock. Every recommendation is reviewed by James before it reaches you.
AlyssaOffice ManagerKeeps every date and document moving
SruthiAssociateCo-host, Office Insiders
Directsthe agentic team
AIAgentic team · working nowlive
JarvisChief Systems Intelligence
The brain of the operation. Runs every system and agent for James, and pulls live intel on any building, submarket or landlord in seconds.
HarrisonAgentic Broker · Digital Twin
James's digital twin. Holds every step of the tenant-rep process to Fortune 500 corporate real estate standards.
LaurenMarket Intelligence Lead
Knows the market backwards and forwards. Connects the dots across outside data, comps and trends. Never sees client data.
AudreyOperations Conductor
Type A by design. Holds the calendar, critical dates and admin together so every train arrives on time.
Every recommendation is reviewed by James before it reaches you. Client data never goes into AI.
Every submarket · every building
We know Houston block by block.
Downtown to The Woodlands, the Galleria to Sugar Land. Every published data point on every office and industrial building in Texas, kept current by our systems, our network and 18 years of James's own deals. Right now the market is fractured: Tier 1 towers are hot, everything else is soft, and the leverage lives in knowing which side your building is on.
Track record
Built in Houston
Strategy session
Book a 30-minute sessionWhat does 30 minutes cost you?
In 30 minutes we'll show you what the Houston market means for your lease: the leverage you have, the concessions that are realistic, and what renewing without representation would cost. Bring your lease terms. We'll bring the data and open the app.
One firm · five capabilities
Not just a broker. A competitive advantage.
The deal, the workplace strategy, a workforce analysis worth $50,000 from any consulting firm, and the systems behind all of it. One engagement. One point of contact.
How we compare
The best firms in Houston are legitimate. We built one that outperforms them anyway.
We were trained inside the largest firms in the world and we respect them. Then we built what they cannot: a connected intelligence system, an agentic team and a client app. Here is the difference, line by line.
The traditional firmExperienced. Connected. Backward-looking.
Robertson PartnersEverything they have, plus intelligence they cannot build.
Who they knowCredentialed, connected and experienced. They know everyone in the market.
What we knowEveryone they know, plus every published data point on every office and industrial building in Texas, refreshed around the clock.
Market knowledgeBuilt on recent deals and landlord relationships.
Building-level intelligenceLoan maturities, distress signals and landlord motivation, read before we walk in the door.
Updates when the broker gets to itA phone call or an email, eventually.
The client appYour deal, documents, dates and every broker action, live on your phone and shared with your team.
Done when you signHandles the lease transaction, then moves on.
You call, we answerWorkplace strategy, lease audits, surprise charges and move-in help. Once a client, always a client.
A deck of historical compsSolid and professional. Looking backward.
Live data and scenario modelsA 24-hour search covering every viable option, modeled across term, size and submarket.
One negotiation strategyThe same playbook for every client.
A data-modeled deal structureBuilt around your timeline, budget and market position, held to Fortune 500 standards by James and Harrison.
6 for 6. Everything a traditional firm offers, and six things it cannot.See the difference in 30 minutes
Included in every engagement
Standard, not an upgrade
Every one of these runs on the people you know and the agentic team behind them. Each card shows who's on it.
24-hour market coverage
Every viable option in your target submarket, identified and analyzed, not just listed.
Run byLauren & Jarvis
Building-level intelligence
Current data on every published data point for every office and industrial building in Texas, scrubbed and analyzed around the clock and fed straight to the agentic team. No stone unturned. Client data stays private. Then James's 18 years decide where the leverage is.
Run byJarvis & Lauren
The client app
Your deal, documents, dates and broker activity, live on your phone and shareable with your team.
Run byJarvis & Audrey
Leverage-driven strategy
Built around your timeline, budget and market position for maximum concessions.
Run byJames & Harrison
Complimentary workforce review
Your team benchmarked against industry standards to find optimization and automation opportunities.
Run byHarrison & Lauren
You call, we answer
Once you're a client, you're always a client. Before, during and after the lease is signed, you have an advocate: lease audits, surprise landlord charges, any situation with your landlord. Moving in? We connect you with vendors and developers from one of the largest networks in the city. Direct access to James on every deal.
Run byJames & Audrey
Strategy session
Book a 30-minute sessionWhat does 30 minutes cost you?
In 30 minutes we'll show you what the Houston market means for your lease: the leverage you have, the concessions that are realistic, and what renewing without representation would cost. Bring your lease terms. We'll bring the data and open the app.
Case studies
The deals
Every number below is real. Open any deal to see how it happened, and we'll walk through the rest in person.
Strategy session
Book a 30-minute sessionWhat does 30 minutes cost you?
In 30 minutes we'll show you what the Houston market means for your lease: the leverage you have, the concessions that are realistic, and what renewing without representation would cost. Bring your lease terms. We'll bring the data and open the app.
Featured episode
Houston leads the country in office defaults
Episode 27. What a record wave of defaults means for office tenants in the post-Covid era, and how to use it.
Featured episode
Houston is fractured. Which side are you on?
A vibrant market for Tier 1 space sits next to a much softer one for everything else. Where your building lands decides your leverage.
The show
The intelligence nobody else is sharing
Office Insiders is the commercial real estate show Houston never had. Every episode: one building, one deal story, one piece of market intelligence that changes how you think about your own space.
Built for CEOs, CFOs and business owners who want to understand the market, not just be told what to do in it. Ten minutes to watch, or listen on your commute. Hosted by James Robertson, Jr., with co-host Sruthi.
Follow along
Office & Industrial Insiders and socials
Latest episode · Oct 23, 2026
Natura PCR
The newest upload on Office & Industrial Insiders, the commercial real estate show hosted by James Robertson, Jr.
Watch on YouTube ↗
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Office & Industrial Insiders
Every Tuesday: one market stat, one deal insight, and one thing your landlord hopes you don't know. Three minutes. Free.
James E. Robertson Jr.
Principal · Robertson Partners Houston
Host, Office InsidersTexas' #1 commercial real estate show · YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn
Outthink. Outmaneuver. Outperform.
Book a meeting$2.5B+transaction volume
18yearsHouston commercial real estate
- Top 10Houston Office BrokerGrubb & Ellis · 2009
- Top 50Black Professionals & EntrepreneursTexas · 2025
Career progression
- Grubb & EllisAssociate → Broker2007–2009Top 10 Houston Office Broker
Senior Vice PresidentOffice & Industrial
Senior Vice PresidentChairman, Black Professionals NetworkLed AI technology tiger teamTop broker, Summer of Sales (national) · 2023
PrincipalFounder · today
The short version
When a real estate decision is one the business will live with for years, owners and executives call James. He walks in already knowing the market, the building, and the people on every side of the table.
His career runs through Grubb & Ellis (Houston Top 10), CBRE, and JLL, where he chaired the Black Professionals Network and led the AI technology tiger team. He founded Robertson Partners to represent tenants and buyers only, never landlords. Clients range from locally owned businesses to Fortune 500 companies and some of the nation's largest public institutions.
He hosts Office Insiders, Texas' #1 commercial real estate show, on YouTube, Instagram and LinkedIn.
Your deal team
Every recommendation is reviewed by James before it reaches you.
JamesLead Broker
AlyssaOffice Manager
SruthiAssociate
Office Insiders · James hosts, Sruthi co-hosts
James directs
AIAgentic team
Recommendations on LinkedIn
What clients say
He helped my company find our first office space 10 years ago. Since that time, James has worked with us to expand and open 5 additional office locations across the US.
James was able to explain every detail regarding the operating costs and provided us with a detailed analysis of why they were so high… We were able to get the terms on the lease that protect us from inflated operating costs.
Selected work
Cross-trained across property types
OfficeIndustrialPublic sectorDevelopmentLandRetail
Industrial · Buyer repClosed
Purchased
8-acre industrial building; seller-funded roof closed a $200K price gap
Public sector · AcquisitionClosed
Building purchase
Negotiated the downtown acquisition and added value for the County
Industrial developmentDelivered
$1B+
plastics recycling plant, managed through project & development services
Partial client list
$2.5B+in transaction volume
<10,000 SF → 1,000,000+ SFdeal sizes, from single suites to million-square-foot transactions
Property types
OfficeIndustrialLandRetailP3 projectsInvestment
From locally owned businesses to Fortune 500 corporations and some of the nation's largest public institutions.
Career
- TodayRobertson Partners Houston · Founder & Principal
- JLLSenior Vice President · led the AI technology tiger team; Chair, Black Professionals Network
- CBRESenior Vice President · office and industrial
- 2009WorkSpace Commercial Real Estate · Founder & Managing Broker
- 2007Grubb & Ellis · Top 10 Houston broker; 94 on the national exam, highest in the Houston office
- 2004City of Houston, Controller's Office · Director of Community Relations
Education & leadership
- University of Houston, B.B.A. in Management, C.T. Bauer College of Business
- Two-term Student Body President, elected by the largest margin in school history
- Four-year Jesse Jones Scholar
- Middle linebacker, UH football
Services
Commercial Real EstateNegotiationRelocationStrategic PlanningBusiness ConsultingReal Estate MarketingTeam Building
Schedule a conversation
Your lease window is open. Let's use it.
Renewing, relocating or evaluating a purchase, it starts with one conversation. No pitch. No obligation. Just data relevant to your situation.
Market position snapshot
Tell us your building, your lease expiration and your approximate square footage. We'll tell you what the market means for your position and whether an engagement makes sense. You decide.
Book a 15-minute snapshotNegotiation leverage strategy
Bring your current lease terms. We'll bring the data and open the app. You'll leave knowing your leverage, what this market offers a tenant in your position, and what renewing without representation would cost.
Book a 30-minute strategy sessionGet in touch
Cell832.493.3377
Office346.298.0895
Emailjames@robertsoncre.com
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