BROKER ALL-STARS
Meet 25 of the state’s top
commercial real estate dealmakers
Compiled by Carl Cronan and Crystal Proenza
The past year has been a tough time for commercial real estate brokers throughout Florida, with tighter capital markets creating a credit crunch affecting investment sales and economic uncertainty putting the brakes on leasing deals.
Despite the slowdown, some brokers managed to keep forging ahead and putting up impressive numbers. In this feature,
we profile 25 of the top brokers from various real estate sectors and markets within the Sunshine State. Rankings are based on the
aggregate dollar value of transactions completed from August 2007 through July 2008.
Real Estate Florida received more than 70 submissions by brokers, which were then studied by the editors and sorted based on investment sales and leasing. Some of the brokers work in teams and are listed as such. In cases where several brokers were nominated
from the same firm, the top three were selected for the rankings. All information was provided by the individual brokers, their firms
or other representatives.
SALES
AVERY KLANN
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT
APARTMENT REALTY ADVISORS
BOCA RATON
Total number of completed deals: 6
Total value: $375 million
Last September, Klann brokered the sale of
Alexan Miramar, a newly developed, 512-
unit multifamily community in Miramar. ARA represented the
seller, Trammell Crow Residential, and connected it to eventual
buyer UBS Realty Advisors. The deal represented Broward
County’s largest apartment transaction in 2007. Klann says he has
seen a decrease in sales activity over the past year, resulting from
a combination of the credit crunch starting last summer and a slowdown in the number of properties for sale. “The current disconnect between buyers and sellers in the market should wane as
sellers and lenders face reality,” he says. “New apartment development is very constrained and will continue to be as land is limited. We are very bullish on multifamily in Southeast Florida as the
fundamentals are some of the nation’s strongest.”
MIKE DAVIS
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
CUSHMAN & WAKEFIELD OF
FLORIDA INC.
TAMPA
Total number of compeleted deals: 11
Total value: $333.4 million
In late July, Davis negotiated the $47.3-
million portfolio sale of the Centrepointe and Corporate
Oaks buildings in Tampa to TA Associates on behalf of
USAA Real Estate Co. The four-building, 350,232-sf transaction marks the region’s largest office sale to date this
year.Although leasing fundamentals have weakened significantly, with conservative underwriting impacting values,
Davis says Florida continues to attract national investor interest. “While underwriting may become more aggressive in
the future, concern over increasing yield requirements primarily driven by anticipated rises in interest rates may moderate future gains,” he says.
