2022 Top Commercial Real Estate Brokerage Firms
CPE unveils the 20 leading firms overall—plus the top performers for investment and leasing—in our latest annual ranking.
You can also read our other Most Powerful Brokerage Firms rankings.
| Rank | Company | 2021 Investment Sales Volume ($MM) | 2021 Square Feet Leased (000s) | No. of Brokers | Property Types |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CBRE | $388,700.00 | 1,500,000 | – | O, I, R, M, X |
| 2 | Cushman & Wakefield | $160,000.00 | 852,000 | 6,847 | O, I, R, M, X |
| 3 | Newmark | $131,617.08 | 267,022 | 1,877 | O, I, R, M, H, Ho, St, Se, X |
| 4 | Marcus & Millichap | $84,400.00 | – | 1,994 | O, I, R, M, H, Ho, St, Se, X |
| 5 | NAI Global | $17,000.00 | 180,000 | 5,100 | O, I, R, M, H, Ho, St, Se |
| 6 | Avison Young | $20,400.00 | 107,600 | 2,101 | O, I, R, M, X |
| 7 | Lee & Associates Commercial Real Estate Services | $16,704.19 | 198,768 | 1,150 | O, I, R, M, X |
| 8 | TCN Worldwide | $26,872.47 | 100,638 | 1,500 | O, I, R, M, H, Ho, X |
| 9 | SVN International Corp. | $20,400.00 | 38,026 | 1,420 | O, I, R, M, X |
| 10 | Berkadia | $26,698.19 | – | 141 | O, R, M, H, Ho, St, Se, X |
| 11 | Matthews Real Estate Investment Services | $8,340.00 | 8,018 | 300 | O, I, R, M, H, X |
| 12 | Coldwell Banker Commercial | $9,200.00 | – | 2,678 | O, I, R, M, Ho, St, X |
| 13 | Transwestern Real Estate Services | $4,211.52 | 53,374 | 405 | O, I, R, M, H, Ho, X |
| 14 | SRS Real Estate Partners | $3,351.85 | 9,739 | 175 | O, I, R, H, Ho, X |
| 15 | Kidder Mathews | $5,541.07 | 39,312 | 467 | O, I, R, M, H, Ho, X |
| 16 | Stream Realty Partners | $1,981.07 | 56,527 | 199 | O, I, R, H, X |
| 17 | Voit Real Estate Services | $1,739.95 | 14,241 | 130 | I, M, X |
| 18 | Greysteel | $1,337.87 | – | 24 | I, R, M, Ho, X |
| 19 | Stan Johnson Co. | $4,000.00 | – | 101 | O, I, R, M, H, X |
| 20 | Ariel Property Advisors | $743.00 | – | 25 | R, M, X |
Top 10 Firms in Leasing
Top 10 Firms in Sales
| Rank | Company Name |
|---|---|
| 1 | CBRE |
| 2 | Cushman & Wakefield |
| 3 | NAI Global |
| 4 | Avison Young |
| 5 | Lee & Associates Commercial Real Estate Services |
| 6 | Newmark |
| 7 | TCN Worldwide |
| 8 | Stream Realty Partners |
| 9 | SVN International Corp. |
| 10 | Transwestern Real Estate Services |
| Rank | Company Name |
|---|---|
| 1 | CBRE |
| 2 | Cushman & Wakefield |
| 3 | Newmark |
| 4 | Marcus & Millichap |
| 5 | Berkadia |
| 6 | Avison Young |
| 7 | Lee & Associates Commercial Real Estate Services |
| 8 | SVN International Corp. |
| 9 | Matthews Real Estate Investment Services |
| 10 | TCN Worldwide |
Note: The following noteworthy firms did not submit responses: JLL, Colliers and Eastdil Secured.
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 Agota Felhazi at [email protected].
Exceeding Expectations
Despite suffering setbacks in 2020 during the pandemic, commercial real estate transaction volume rebounded in 2021 and exceeded expectations. Survey respondents reported strong levels of investment sales activity, with our 23 top performers completing more than $951 billion in transactions in 2021―compared to 26 respondents completing just $523.4 billion in 2020.
Even in the face of looming rate hikes, the outlook for commercial real estate investment activity remains positive for 2022, as investors will likely continue to be driven towards property types boasting strong underlying fundamentals.
While the industry remains optimistic for 2022, our 2022 Most Powerful Brokerage Firms ranking highlights the top firms to watch.
CBRE held onto its longstanding position at the top of this year’s ranking and placed first in our leasing and sales category rankings. Reporting near $389 billion in transaction activity in 2021, CBRE boasted a 114 percent increase in investment sales volume from 2020. The brokerage firm’s investment volume was spread out across asset types, with the greatest volume occurring in the multifamily and industrial sectors. CBRE’s leasing volume was up as well in 2021, with 1.5 billion square feet leased―a 25 percent increase from the previous year.
Cushman & Wakefield and Newmark rounded out the top three in the investment sales ranking with a respective $160 billion and $132 billion in transaction volume in 2021. Cushman also ranked second in our leasing category, with 852 million square feet leased throughout the fiscal year. While they hold the third-place spot in the overall and sales rankings, however, Newmark came in sixth for leasing with just over 267 million square feet of lease transactions.
—Claire Spadoni, Senior Research Analyst, Yardi Matrix
Methodology
Commercial Property Executive’s ranking of the Most Powerful Brokerage Firms is based on self-reported data from all firms. We used a weighted formula, considered various factors including a firm’s performance in 2021 and previous years, and reviewed data that reflects investment sales and leasing activity. 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.
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