New Firm Banks on NYC Multifamily Market

By Tonie Auer, Contributing Correspondent The current economic climate is certainly putting a drag on many in the commercial property business. But Kevin Salmon is betting that now is a time of opportunity. To that end, Salmon has launched Salmon and Marshall Real Estate Investments, a new firm that will provide investment sales and consultation services in Manhattan’s apartment and condominium markets.“Now is probably one of the better times [to establish a new firm] because larger firms are downsizing and closing offices,” Salmon told CPN. “The people who jumped into the industry over the last six years are leaving the business, so we can gain market share while the market is shrinking.”In May, Salmon, who formerly served as vice president of investments for Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services–joined Matthew Marshall to launch the firm, which is located in Midtown Manhattan. “We started our firm without a lot of overhead, which is a tremendous plus for us,” Salmon said. “We are focusing on what we already know, following the course we were taking at Marcus & Millichap, concentrating on multi-family assets. We also started a commercial condo unit.“We’ve catalogued a list of multi-family and retail condos and have already been hired to sell three commercial condos,” he said. “We’re not seeking out distressed assets, unless they were to come to us.”The three commercial condos that the firm has been hired to sell are 129 Lafayette St., 145 Mulberry St. and 142 Sullivan St. The firm also has two properties under contract–120 McDougal St. and 142 Sullivan St.“We have only been in operation for a short time and we’ve already sold those properties in a down market,” Salmon said.