Cushman to adopt Massey Knakal territory system for NYC investment sales

In perhaps the most significant development of its $100 million Massey Knakal Realty Services acquisition, Cushman & Wakefield will adopt Massey Knakal’s signature territory system for investment sales within New York City, The Real Deal has learned.

Paul Massey, CEO of Massey Knakal and now president of New York investment sales at Cushman, said that the firm’s territory system, which divides New York City into about 50 territories each headed by a broker, will soon become Cushman’s new model for New York investment sales. Ron Lo Russo, Cushman’s president of brokerage for the New York region, confirmed the news.

Massey said, however, the implementation of the system, which assigns every broker and junior agents to a different geographic area, “could take some time.”

The Massey Knakal system is unique in New York City, and indeed, according to several brokers, the only one of its kind in the country. Under the system, the local broker is paid a piece of the commission if another Massey Knakal broker originates a deal there. The system also results in junior brokers becoming experts in their territory, allowing the firm to create powerful connections to every neighborhood in the city. It allowed the firm, founded in 1988, to become the city’s most prolific building sales brokerage, by individual properties sold, for more than 10 years running.

But the system has limitations that companies like Rosewood Realty Group and other firms that have a more traditional system — one based on strong relationships between senior brokers and major landlords — can exploit.

Yesterday, TRD reported that the Massey Knakal name will soon be retired and that the firm will adopt Cushman’s branding.

(For more details on these changes and other behind-the-scenes action, check out TRD’s full story on the Cushman-Massey Knakal deal in the February issue.)