MULTIFAMILY INFLUENCER: Marcus & Millichap
The multifamily market has long been a sought-after investment target, and one of the most active firms in the field is Marcus & Millichap.
Marcus & Millichap is known for its strength in the multifamily sector, thanks in part to the efforts of (clockwise, from tom left) CEO Hessam Nadji; John S. Sebree, First VP and Director of the National Multi Housing Group; Paul D. Davis, Executive Managing Director, Investments, and Founder, Affordable Housing Advisors; Andrew S. Daitch, Executive Managing Director, Investments, Affordable Housing Advisors;Adam A. Lewis, VP & National Director, Seniors Housing Group; Peter Katz, Executive Managing Director, Investments, IPA Student Housing; and Jeffery J. Daniels, National Director, IPA Multifamily & Student Housing.
The multifamily market has long been, and continues to be, a sought-after target by investors of all stripes, driving billions of dollars in transaction activity annually. One of the most active firms in the field is Marcus & Millichap, a publicly traded company with offices throughout the US and Canada, providing CRE investment brokerage, research, financing and advisory services to a variety of clients, many of which are major players in the apartment space.
Through its various branches—which range from traditional and institutional property to niche segments like affordable, seniors and student housing, and are headed by national directors that are among the firm’s most successful producers—Marcus & Millichap has closed 3,375 in multifamily sales, generating some $22 billion in volume in 2017 alone. In fact, data from Real Capital Analytics place Marcus & Millichap, run by chief executive officer Hessam Nadji, as the industry leader when it comes to closing multifamily transactions valued north of $2.5 million.
Led by first vice president and national director John S. Sebree, the firm’s National Multi Housing Group counts more than 600 apartment property specialists across North America. The team has closed some $88 billion in sales over the past five years through its proprietary platform. Last year alone, the NMHG closed more than 3,300 transactions valued at $21 billion. Having spent 18 years of his 25-year career with Marcus & Millichap, Chicago-based Sebree took over leadership of the NMHG in 2012. He has since grown its volume by 46% and has shifted the profile of its client base, driven in part by a 45% increase in the number of transactions worth more than $10 million. Sebree also grew the Marcus & Millichap Multifamily Forum and has overseen 10 of the gatherings annually for the past five years. Held throughout the country, the day-long events bring together thousands of multifamily investors, owners, managers and developers active in the business.
When Paul D. Davis formed Affordable Housing Advisors in 1986, it was the first brokerage in the US to focus on affordable housing. He brought his business to a national level when he joined Marcus & Millichap in 1998 and began growing both AHA’s book of business and its team. Among those additions was Andrew S. Daitch, whom Davis took under his wing in 1999. Over the next two decades, the mentor and mentee grew AHA as a pioneer and industry leader in the brokerage of government-subsidized multifamily properties.
Today, the executive managing directors are leaders Marcus & Millichap’s AHA, which has exclusively listed and sold over 185,000 subsidized units throughout the US, valued at more than $7 billion. With Daitch at its helm, the team evaluates more than 700 properties annually and closed $1 billion-plus in sales in 2017 alone. Daitch also led the launch of AHA Philanthropy, which focuses on giving back to such organizations as the Ronald McDonald House, Forgotten Harvest and the NLHA Education Fund.
Focusing on the unique needs of institutional and major private investors, Marcus & Millichap’s Institutional Property Advisors is ranked among the top multifamily brokers in the country. IPA’s multifamily platform is led by SVP and national director Jeffery J. Daniels, who has managed nearly $10 billion of multifamily assets throughout his decades-long career.
Marcus & Millichap’s multifamily specialty groups are just as active as the ones focusing on traditional apartments. IPA Student Housing, which provides investment and development advisory services, consists of a team of specialists that have more than 20 years of combined experience. The IPA Student Housing specialty is led by Peter Katz, the broker behind one of last year’s largest student housing transactions, the $1-billion-plus sale of a 12,000-bed portfolio of 22 properties in 18 states. The executive managing director has closed more than 67,500 units with 163,000 beds, totaling roughly $15 billion, in student housing and market-rate transactions on a global level.
On the other end of the demographic spectrum is Marcus & Millichap’s National Seniors Housing Group, which focuses on assisted and independent living properties, skilled nursing facilities and continuing care retirement communities nationwide. Led by VP and national director Adam A. Lewis, the team has closed 1,200 transactions in 44 states for more than $7.6 billion, and currently has more than two dozen properties on the market. Additionally, the firm has partnered with Feeding America on the Million Meals Initiative, helping to provide a million meals to people in need.