Many teams assume strong demographics and visible locations are enough.

In practice, what matters just as much is how a market actually functions day to day—how people move, how infrastructure holds up, and how local patterns shape demand.

In this episode of Behind the Lease, Brett sits down with Sarah Williams of Council Real Estate in Atlanta to talk about what retail strategy looks like at ground level.

Sarah’s path into brokerage wasn’t typical. She studied political science and spent time working in government before returning to real estate. That background shows up in how she approaches deals—measured, relationship-driven, and aware that timing and context matter as much as the site itself.

What we get into

1. What most site selection m ...