The still burgeoning Brooklyn real estate market has lured a big national investment brokerage across the East River for the first time.
In late May, Encino, Calif.-based Marcus & Millichap opened a temporary office at 32 Court Street on the border of Brooklyn Heights and Cobble Hill. The firm plans to move to a more permanent home nearby by the fall.
The move was a natural one for Marcus & Millichap, according to the head of the new office, regional manager Charles Blessing.
The firm has 65 agents working out of its Midtown Manhattan office. Many are doing business in Brooklyn, Blessing said. In early June, the Brooklyn office had around 10 agents, most of them new and in training.
“We see attractive opportunities for business in Brooklyn,” said Blessing, who has been with the company since 2002.
While its presence in New York isn’t huge, Marcus & Millichap is one of the larger real estate investment brokerages in the nation, with 1,000 agents in more than 50 offices in the U.S.