Colliers launches multifamily group

One of Virginia’s top commercial real estate firms has launched a multifamily group it hopes will give it a competitive edge in the wake of a statewide reshuffling of the industry.

Colliers International began a Mid-Atlantic Advisory Group that will focus on the markets spanning Central and Southeast Virginia and the Washington, D.C., area.

The brokers part of Colliers’ new multifamily group includes the three former CBRE affiliate brokers G.S. “Hank” Hankins and Victoria Pickett in Norfolk and Charles Wentworth in Richmond. Rawles Wilcox and Clay Ellis in Washington, D.C., are also part of the team.

Earlier this month, Colliers International finalized its acquisition of a majority interest in the former CBRE Inc. affiliate in Virginia. Former CBRE affiliates in Richmond, Norfolk, Charlottesville and Fredericksburg have been rebranded as Colliers International.

Will Matthews is the managing director of Colliers’ Multifamily Group that covers the East Coast. He says his hope for the new mid-Atlantic-focused group is that it will help sellers tap into Colliers relationships around the country.

“I think there is tremendous interest in the state of Virginia,” Matthews says. “We’ve seen that interest increase during this cycle.”

Matthews says that Virginia’s low unemployment rate helps attract multifamily investors. The state’s unemployment rate in December was 2.8 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Colliers’ Mid-Atlantic Advisory group has launched seven new listings in as many days, Matthews says. The listings include the 294-unit Hickory Creek Apartments in Henrico County and the 229-unit Saltmeadow Bay Apartments in Virginia Beach.