(Carl Cronan is editor of Real EstateFlorida.)

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL-Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services is expanding its operations and investment sales force throughout Florida, despite a statewide slowdown in commercial real estate transaction velocity. The Encino, CA-based firm has restructured its Florida management team to facilitate its anticipated growth.

Gene Berman, group managing director of Marcus & Millichap's Florida offices and regional manager of its Fort Lauderdale office, is leading the state expansion along with Bryn Merrey, who will head the Orlando office as regional manager. Greg Matus, the current Orlando regional manager, is moving to the Fort Lauderdale office in the same capacity to assist Berman with day-to-day responsibilities.

In other related moves, David Bradley has been named sales manager of the Jacksonville office, while Steve Ekovich, who had been splitting time between the Tampa and Jacksonville offices as regional manager, will continue to lead the Tampa office. Kirk Felici remains Miami regional manager.

Berman tells GlobeSt.com that Marcus & Millichap's moves run contrary to those of commercial real estate services firms overall, which are reducing staff and services in Florida and elsewhere nationally in response to the sharp decline in sales and leasing activity. He notes that the firm has expanded consistently within the Sunshine State since opening its first office in Fort Lauderdale in April 1997.

"Marcus & Millichap continues to grow as our specialization in commercial sales, financing and research, coupled with our cooperative approach to brokerage, are enabling our clients to move capital nationally and execute transactions," Berman says. "Our agents and managers possess in-depth market and submarket knowledge, which has enabled Marcus & Millichap to continue to arrange real estate investment sales through every market cycle, including this one."

Within its first five years of operation within Florida, the Fort Lauderdale office became one of Marcus & Millichap's top ten in terms of sales volume and remains ranked as a leading office nationwide, Berman says. The firm has since added offices in Tampa, Orlando, Miami, Jacksonville and Melbourne, the latter of which has moved to Vero Beach.

Harvey E. Green, president and CEO of Marcus & Millichap, says the commercial real estate industry questioned his company's moves to put so many investment sales brokers in Florida a decade ago. "We responded by opening more offices, which demonstrates that our critical mass of brokers and ability to place these brokers in specific submarkets only enhanced our success in the state," Green stated in a release.

Berman explains that Marcus & Millichap's national platform allows agents from other states to bring in capital from outside specific markets to acquire local properties. Because its managers and executives were once active real estate agents, he says, they can effectively train and develop the skills of newer agents while understanding challenges being faced in the current down cycle.

"Ultimately, the extensive market and transaction expertise of our investment specialists has enabled Marcus & Millichap to remain the dominant force in Florida's real estate investment market," Berman says. "The agents and managers in our offices assist in creating, managing and growing the income stream of our institutional and private investor clients within Florida and outside the region."

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Marcus & Millichap Restructures State Operations

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