VIDEO: Newmark To Accelerate Global Expansion During Downturn, CEO Barry Gosin Says

Fresh off opening an office in Paris, Newmark plans to expand farther across Europe and beyond, looking to hire top talent or buy the companies they work for, CEO Barry Gosin said in an interview with CoStar News at the Mipim conference in Cannes, France.

The real estate services giant has been working in Europe for many years but only formally launched its brand there about 18 months ago, said Gosin, who has led the firm for 45 years. In addition to the United Kingdom, France and Germany, Newmark operates in Poland, [the Czech Republic] and has been expanding in Hong Kong, he said.

"We expect that in the next 12 months, we should have most of Europe covered and over the next 18 to 24 months generally the globe," Gosin said. "This is a generational opportunity."

The opportunity is big, Gosin said, because during downturns, "professionals are doing less, they have more time, and they can look around and consider. It’s much harder to hire talent when everyone’s really busy" 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

As for Gerald Eve, the real estate consultancy Newmark acquired last year, Gosin said the integration of the firm into Newmark is going well. In fact, the brokerage has been adding people at Gerald Eve as well as BH2 and Harper Dennis Hobbs, two other firms Newmark has acquired in the United Kingdom.

Check out the video above to hear Gosin's thoughts on the state of the U.S. market, prospects for New York's office sector, the future of San Francisco and more.