2021 Top Commercial Real Estate Brokerage Firms
CPE unveils the 20 leading overall brokerage firms—and the top performers for investment and leasing—in the latest edition of our annual ranking.
Find the 2022 Top Commercial Real Estate Brokerage Firms list and analysis here..
| Rank | Company | 2020 Investment Sales Volume ($MM) | 2020 Square Feet Leased (000s) | No. of Brokers | Property Types |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CBRE | $181,644.81 | 1,200,000 | 9,450 | O, I, R, M, Ho, X |
| 2 | Cushman & Wakefield | $88,000.00 | 738,000 | 4,036 | O, I, R, M, X |
| 3 | Newmark* | $72,590.89 | 199,925 | 1,941 | O, I, R, M, H, Ho, St, Se, X |
| 4 | Colliers | $23,548.84 | 403,010 | 2,427 | O, I, R, M, Ho, X |
| 5 | Lee & Associates | $10,056.00 | 285,307 | 1,092 | O, I, R, M, X |
| 6 | NAI Global | $17,000.00 | 166,000 | 6,000 | O, I, R, M, H, Ho, St, Se |
| 7 | Marcus & Millichap | $43,406.82 | – | 2,097 | O, I, R, M, H, Ho, St, Se, X |
| 8 | Avison Young | $9,900.00 | 80,300 | 1,937 | O, I, R, M, X |
| 9 | TCN Worldwide | $21,847.53 | 64,927 | 1,500 | O, I, R, M, X |
| 10 | SVN International Corp. | $12,500.00 | 29,205 | 1,340 | O, I, R, M, X |
| 11 | Kidder Mathews | $3,857.76 | 31,084 | 470 | O, I, R, M, H, X |
| 12 | NorthMarq | $2,085.94 | – | 41 | M |
| 13 | SRS Real Estate Partners | $2,047.12 | 7,803 | 168 | O, I, R, M, H, X |
| 14 | Matthews Real Estate Investment Services | $4,072.71 | 92 | 240 | O, I, R, M, H, X |
| 15 | Transwestern Real Estate Services | $3,323.62 | 39,145 | 430 | O, I, R, M, H, X |
| 16 | Coldwell Banker Commercial | $5,400.00 | – | 2,635 | O, I, R, M, Ho, X |
| 17 | Stream Realty Partners | $1,052.26 | 37,892 | 182 | O, I, R, H, X |
| 18 | Berkadia | $8,000.00 | – | 112 | O, I, R, M, H, Ho, St, Se, X |
| 19 | James Capital Advisors | $332.08 | – | 31 | O, I, R, M, H, X |
| 20 | Voit Real Estate Services | $831.24 | 14,115 | 125 | O, I, R, M, X |
Top 10 Firms in Leasing
Top 10 Firms in Sales
| Rank | Company Name |
|---|---|
| 1 | CBRE |
| 2 | Cushman & Wakefield |
| 3 | Lee & Associates |
| 4 | Colliers |
| 5 | Newmark |
| 6 | Avison Young |
| 7 | Kidder Mathews |
| 8 | NAI Global |
| 9 | Transwestern Real Estate Services |
| 10 | Stream Realty Partners |
| Rank | Company Name |
|---|---|
| 1 | CBRE |
| 2 | Newmark |
| 3 | Cushman & Wakefield |
| 4 | NorthMarq |
| 5 | NAI Global |
| 6 | Colliers |
| 7 | Marcus & Millichap |
| 8 | Lee & Associates |
| 9 | SRS Real Estate Partners |
| 10 | Avison Young |
* Newmark’s figures represent the brokerage firm’s North American operations only.
Key: O=Office, I=Industrial, R=Retail, M=Multifamily, H=Health Care, Ho=Hospitality, St=Student Housing, Se=Senior Housing, X=Other
To be included in upcoming surveys, email Jeff Hamann at [email protected].
Navigating a Changed Landscape
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic disrupting many aspects of the commercial real estate industry, top commercial real estate brokerage firms were able to quickly adjust and continue providing services for their clients.
Office sales volume did drop substantially in 2020 to $60 billion, a 44 percent decline from the $108 billion in 2019. Despite this drop, pricing per square foot remained relatively stable at $274, a 2 percent increase from 2019. Sales volume will likely increase in 2021 but is expected to remain below pre-pandemic levels. As the industry finds its way forward, our 2021 Most Powerful Brokerage Firms ranking highlights the top firms to watch.
CBRE retained its long-standing position at the top of this year’s overall ranking and additionally placed first in our leasing and sales rankings. Even though the firm’s investment sales volume dropped 31 percent from 2019, it reported $182 billion across asset types—the highest among our respondents. CBRE’s investment volume was spread across asset classes, with the largest volume occurring in the office and industrial sectors. The brokerage’s leasing volume was down as well, with 1.2 billion leased in 2020, a 25 percent decline from the previous year.
Rounding out the top three are Cushman & Wakefield and Newmark, with $88 billion and $73 billion in sales volume for 2020, respectively. Both firms saw a decline in sales volume in 2020, with Cushman & Wakefield’s volume declining by 22 percent and Newmark’s decreasing by 12 percent. Out of all companies surveyed, the largest percentage of investment sales volume occurred in the multifamily sector, followed closely by industrial and office.
In the leasing ranking, Cushman & Wakefield ranked second with 738 million square feet leased in 2020, and Lee & Associates was third, with 285 million square feet leased. Industrial leasing made up more than half of all activity, at 51 percent of total volume. Office leases accounted for 35 percent of the total.
Methodology
Commercial Property Executive‘s rankings of the Most Powerful Brokerage Firms are based on self-reported data from all firms. We used a weighted formula, considered various factors including a firm’s performance in 2020 and previous years, and reviewed data that reflects investment sales and leasing activity. The rankings represent 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.
—Madeline Harper, Senior Research Analyst, Yardi Matrix
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