15 Top Multifamily Brokerage Firms of 2023
MHN unveils the 15 leading firms—plus the top performers for sales volume and product diversity—in our latest annual ranking.
You can also read our other Top Brokerage Firms rankings.
Note: The following noteworthy firms did not submit responses: JLL, NAI Global and Eastdil Secured.
Key: Mr=Market Rate, L=Luxury, A=Affordable Housing, St=Student Housing, Se=Senior Housing, Mi=Military Housing, SFR=Single-Family Rentals, X=Other
To be included in upcoming surveys, email Agota Felhazi at [email protected].
Another Impressive Year for Multifamily Deals
Image by filadendron/iStockphoto.com
There was some cooling from post-pandemic highs in 2022, but the multifamily sector maintained its excellent performance. National occupancy rates dropped slightly from the previous year but remained stable at 95 percent. Rents grew more slowly but still climbed 11.8 percent, according to Yardi Matrix data. As a result of persistently high home mortgage rates, the multifamily market continues to experience high demand and, therefore, investment activity.
In 2022, multifamily sales volume totaled more than $230 billion, down just 60 basis points from 2021’s record-breaking performance after a tough 2020, when sales volume dropped to $111.6 billion as the pandemic stalled activity.
MHN’s 2023 Top Brokerage Firms ranking features many of the key players behind that strong investment activity. Usurping CBRE, Marcus & Millichap earned this year’s overall ranking, based on a balance among market share, growth and other factors. The firm's total investment sales volume surpassed $46.8 billion for 2022, double what the organization accomplished just two years prior and close to the $49.7 billion it completed in 2019, before COVID struck the U.S.
Newmark and Northmarq took the second and third positions, respectively, with each firm increasing its total sales volume by 50 percent since 2020. Meanwhile, CBRE, which earned the top spot in the previous two years, dropped in the overall ranking. However, the company achieved more than $59 billion in total investment sales volume, landing at No. 1 in that category.
Of the firms that participated in this year’s survey, Northmarq placed first in product diversity, reporting sales in all multifamily sectors except military housing. Unsurprisingly, market-rate housing constituted the largest share of total multifamily investment for firms across the board, with the sector being the sole focus for Melnick Real Estate Advisors in particular.
—Brittney Peacock, Senior Research Analyst, Yardi Matrix
Methodology
Multi-Housing News’ ranking of the Top Brokerage Firms is based on self-reported data from all firms. We considered various factors, including a firm’s performance in 2022 and previous years, investment sales volume and other details. The ranking represents what we feel is a logical balance between firm growth and market share. Ranking factors are not limited to the data that appear on this page.
