ANALYSIS Top of the largest real estate brokers in Romania
The combined business of the five largest real estate consulting companies on the Romanian market increased slightly, by 7% last year, compared to a year earlier, to 69.5 million euros, in the context of only one top player reporting weaker revenues. Although the market leader remains unchanged for the third consecutive year, the next ranked ones changed their position in the top, according to the Profit.ro analysis. CBRE brokers remained at the top of the ranking of real estate consultants with the largest businesses in 2024, despite a 4.2% decrease in turnover, which lowered its revenues to 16.9 million euros. CBRE had been the market leader until 2019, after which it was overtaken by JLL, and in 2022 it returned to the top of the hierarchy, a position it has occupied for 3 consecutive years. It should be noted that CBRE brokers operate in Romania through two business divisions, CBRE Real Estate Consultancy and CBRE Global Workplace Solutions (GWS). In the ranking, for greater accuracy, the revenues of approximately 19.5 million euros generated by CBRE GWS were not taken into account, because the business carried out through this division comes mainly from facility management services (cleaning, repairs, catering, furniture management, postal services), which CBRE's competitors do not practice at this level.
Cushman & Wakefield Echinox recorded the most spectacular advance, after a 20.4% increase in turnover in 2024. The company climbed two positions in the top and placed second after recording cumulative business of 14.8 million euros. Cushman & Wakefield Echinox reported, for the third consecutive year, the highest profit in the ranking, namely 2.5 million euros, equivalent to a profit rate of 17%, the highest in the top 5. The market leader recorded a profit rate of 5%. The office and retail departments were the best performers within Cushman & Wakefield Echinox, in terms of revenue generated. Colliers International dropped one place and placed 3rd in the ranking, although it reported a 3.2% increase in turnover, to 14.2 million euros. The broker's business also includes the activity of Colliers Construction, through which the broker offers related services such as Project Management, Project Monitoring, Boma Measurements, Technical DD and Design & Build. Colliers had a profit rate of 9%.
IO Partners' business grew by about 8% in 2024, to about 13 million euros, a level that ensures its 4th place in the ranking. It should be noted that, in 2023, JLL's operations were taken over by the IO Partners investment fund, owned by American businessman Michael Stanton, and the company's name changed. Since then, the IO Partners team's revenues have been recorded on the IO Partners SRL company, but they also partially remained on the old JLL company. After JLL dominated the real estate brokerage market for 3 years, it moved to second place in 2022 and in the year of the takeover it dropped to third position. IO Partners remained JLL's preferred partner.
The consulting company SVN, specializing in the residential segment of the real estate market, remained constant in the fifth position in the top. Last year, after an increase of 18.9%, SVN recorded a total turnover of 10.4 million euros. This is the first year that the companies under the SVN umbrella exceed the 10 million euro mark. Interestingly, the highest profit margin in the field, in 2024, was also achieved by Andrea Păun's boutique company, called Griffes, which achieved a profit rate of 65%, after business growing to about 2.1 million euros.
Source https://www.profit.ro/
