ARG / June 29, 2020
As Published on Bisnow3 GFI Realty Brokers Launching New Investment Sales Brokerage
Another group of brokers is breaking out on their own and setting up their own investment sales shop.
Shlomo Antebi, Yosef Katz and Erik Yankelovich, three brokers who have spent the last decade-plus at GFI Realty Services, are launching their own brokerage firm, Atlas Realty Group Partners.
This new venture will focus on multifamily and commercial properties, development sites and note sales across the city, the principals said in a release.
“We plan to hit the ground running, arranging acquisitions and sales for our respective client bases,” Antebi said in a statement.
“Yosef, Erik and I learned the art of real estate brokerage from the ground up at GFI, and we each developed a true appreciation for the sector. Having been through the ups and downs of real estate cycles, we’re well-positioned to provide valuable insight to our clients.”
Katz added that ARG would be “a boutique brokerage with a startup mentality.” Together, the three have brokered some $4B worth of deals over their career, according to ARG’s launch announcement.
There has been significant disruption in the New York City investment brokerage world in the last two years. After 30 years in business, Eastern Consolidated closed in June 2018, pushing dozens of brokers out onto the employment market. Residential-focused Compass set up its own investment sales shop a few months later. Paul Massey also set up his own operation, B6 Real Estate Advisors.
Most recently, JLL acquired HFF earlier this year, which has kick-started another round of broker musical chairs as JLL incorporates HFF’s debt and capital markets teams. JLL’s former top debt broker, Aaron Appel, launched a new capital markets brokerage this summer.
Meanwhile, the city is seeing a slowdown in the investment sales market. Less than $6.9B worth of commercial real estate properties sold in the third quarter of the year, according to Ariel Property Advisors. That figure represented a 12% drop over the same period last year.
“We’re still seeing significant demand from long-term buyers looking to invest in New York real estate, however the nature of today’s market has made it increasingly challenging to find deals that make sense,” Yankelovich said. “In this climate, it’s particularly valuable for buyers and sellers to work with brokers who have the networks to connect them to the right deals and the knowledge and experience to serve as true advisers.”
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