2024 Top Brokerage Firms

MHN unveils the 15 leading firms—plus the top performers for sales volume and product diversity—in our latest annual ranking.

MHN Real Estate Research

You can also read our other Top Brokerage Firms rankings.

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].

Fundamentals Strong Amid Decrease in Deal Volume

Brokerage firms ranking 2021 MHN
Image by Szepy/iStockphoto.com

Following a stellar two-year run, multifamily investment took a nosedive in 2023. According to Yardi Matrix data, transactions for properties with more than 50 units totaled nearly $70 billion. This was a significant drop compared to the more than $208 billion that traded in 2022 and 2021’s almost $239 billion volume. The downshift was primarily driven by the high cost of capital, which made investors more cautious.

Despite the capital challenges, the multifamily market remained relatively strong. As of last December, the average U.S. asking rent recorded 0.3 percent annual growth, settling at $1,709, according to Yardi Matrix data. National occupancy rates decreased to a still healthy 94.6 percent.

Our Top Multifamily Brokerage Firms ranking highlights the companies behind a significant portion of investment volume. Combined, these firms secured nearly $124 billion in multifamily sales in the past year. This marked a more than 90 percent drop compared to 2022 figures, when the same companies closed $236.6 billion in sales. In 2021, these 15 firms completed more than $269 billion in multifamily transactions.

Marcus & Millichap retained the No. 1 spot. The company’s total investment sales volume came to more than $20 billion, even with sales activity dropping 56.6 percent year-over-year. Newmark and Berkadia secured the second and third spots. In 2023, Newmark facilitated sales amounting to approximately $29.4 billion, a 24 percent decline year-over-year. Meanwhile, Berkadia arranged sales totaling more than $7 billion, marking a 62 percent drop year-over-year.

Matthews Real Estate Investment Services was the only firm that recorded improvement, with successful deal-making increasing 72 percent on an annual basis to $1.1 billion in 2023. Overall, CBRE nabbed the top spot for sales volume; the company completed transactions totaling $35 billion in the past year.
Northmarq stood out for its diverse offerings, facilitating sales across all multifamily categories except military housing. Among the various asset types sold in 2023, investors favored market-rate assets followed by affordable housing, luxury assets, senior housing, single-family rentals and student housing.

—Agota Felhazi, Senior Associate Editor, MHN

Methodology

Multi-Housing News’ ranking of the Top Multifamily Brokerage Firms is based on self-reported data from all firms. We considered various factors, including a firm’s performance in 2023 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.

Read the June 2024 issue of MHN.