For Eric Anton, Succeeding In New York CRE Is All About Staying Ahead Of The Curve
Power broker Eric Michael Anton has joined Marcus & Millichap, where he will build and lead a team focused on investment sales and capital advisory services. As a former HFF senior managing director at its New York office, Anton helped land large deals like Shorenstein Properties’ $330M acquisition of the ground lease at 1407 Broadway, the $265M construction financing for Ian Schrager’s 160 Leroy St. condominium in the West Village and the equity financing for 645 Madison Ave., a 22-story office building in the Plaza District.
A longtime player in New York’s fast-paced and often dizzying CRE market, Anton has worked with owners of value-add Class-B multifamily to luxury Class-A offices with billion-dollar asking prices. Across all property types, his clients depend on his knowledge to navigate complex finance and development issues.
Staying aware of shifts in the market is a full-time job. As prices in New York City remain high across all asset classes, foreign investors from Europe, Asia and the Middle East have begun to move away from Class-A trophy buildings toward value-add properties. Secondary markets also have grown in popularity with foreign buyers.
Anton has witnessed the transformation. Early in his career, submarkets outside of Manhattan did not attract the attention of major investors and developers. Now, Brooklyn has become the next Manhattan, with Queens coming up at an equally breakneck pace.
“I enjoy selling and financing all types of properties in the boroughs because many of these neighborhoods are transforming so quickly,” Anton said. “I am working on several transactions in Long Island City and Downtown Brooklyn and Williamsburg, each of which is unique within its submarket.”
Institutional investors have warmed to taking risks in the development space, rather than purchasing investment property. The market trend appeals to Anton's passion for working with developers and creating joint ventures.
“I just recently closed an equity raise for a local developer with a European fund,” Anton said. “And I really enjoy working with local New York developers that are conceiving creative projects and introducing them to investors from around the world.”
Meeting the needs of those developers requires a deep knowledge of the market.
“The trick is to understand the highest and best use for each property. That takes time and experience and it is not something you can learn from a book,” Anton said.
At Marcus & Millichap, Anton plans to grow the company’s portfolio of deals in the $50M to $200M price range, and to help the firm secure greater market share. In a city packed to bursting with the smartest people in the industry, it is going to take a lot of creativity and dedication, he said.
He also enjoys mentoring new talented professionals in the New York way of real estate, and gives back to the larger community by working with several charities. He serves on the Board of Associates of Ronald McDonald House New York, and has raised substantial funds for Asphalt Green's "Waterproofing Project," which teaches disadvantaged children from Harlem and the Bronx how to swim. As a former nationally ranked collegiate swimmer and with two young children on the Asphalt Green swim team, Anton holds the program near and dear to his heart.
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