Coming off its best year since forming in 2010, Lee & Associates' Atlanta office has named three new partners as the brokerage works to position itself to maintain momentum during a tougher climate for commercial real estate.
The office said it tapped Murray Gray, Joseph Mullican and Connor Winkler to be partners of the firm. Each also has been promoted to the position of executive vice president and principal.
“To be invited into the partnership, one must meet production requirements as well as leadership requirements," Lee & Associates founding partner T. Richard Bryant said in a statement. "Since joining the firm, in addition to meeting those requirements, Murray, Joseph, and Connor have added to the culture, productivity, and success of Lee & Associates - Atlanta."
Lee's move to promote the trio and the recently hiring of six new brokers comes as the largest brokerages including CBRE and JLL are retrenching and paring their workforces because they expect business to slow considerably this year. Earlier this month, Newmark executives said they expect property sales and financing placements to decline further in the first half of 2023 after a slow end to last year.
Last week Colliers reported declines in revenue and profits in the fourth quarter as higher interest rates and other headwinds contributed to an industrywide slump in investment sales, lending and other activities.
Lee Atlanta on the other hand said it recorded its best financial year in 2022 when the office completed transactions with an aggregate value of $1 billion.
Its new partners Gray, Mullican and Winkler focus primarily on industrial leasing and investment sales across several Atlanta markets, and their transaction levels have benefited from the sector's resiliency and continued popularity among investors.
Mullican has nearly 20 years of experience in the commercial real estate industry. Winkler joined Lee Atlanta in January 2018, and Gray has been at the firm since Sept. 2020.