Knakal: I think the attention is coming from the fact that BKREA represents a very intentional departure from how brokerage is traditionally practiced, especially in New York City. For decades, the industry has been dominated by generalists, firms and brokers trying to cover every asset class, every transaction type, and every geography. BKREA was built on the opposite premise: focus, depth, and specialization.
We made a conscious decision to do brokerage the way a real estate developer would do it, not the way a broker would do it. We are focused on selling vacant buildings in NYC. What do you do with those? 1) knock them down and build something else, 2) significantly renovate them and convert the use to something higher and better, or 3) sell them to users. That's what we are intensely focused on while remaining true to our decades-old value proposition of only representing sellers, only working on an exclusive basis, and only doing deals in New York City. That alone is unusual today. But beyond that, we’ve built proprietary resources—like The Knakal Map Room, The Knakal Land Index, and our Development Pipeline—that fundamentally change the quality of information our clients receive. When you combine that with a client-first advisory mindset, it creates a very different experience for property owners.
The media tends to pay attention when something is truly differentiated, not just incrementally better. BKREA is not trying to out-scale anyone or out-market anyone. We are trying to out-think the market and provide our clients with clarity in an environment that has become increasingly complex. I think journalists and industry observers recognize that this model is more aligned with where the market is headed and where specialization, data integrity, and strategic advisory matter more than ever.
Knakal: The biggest driver of our success in 2025 was focus—both in terms of what we chose to work on and how we executed. At BKREA, we are very disciplined about the types of properties we take on and the problems we solve. We spend an enormous amount of time upfront understanding the highest and best use of each asset, how to maximize the value of the property using all available policy and zoning tools, and identifying the most effective way to go to market to greatly increase the probability of a spectacular outcome for the client.
Another major factor was preparation. Every assignment benefits from decades of historical data, boots-on-the-ground research, and proprietary intelligence that simply doesn’t exist elsewhere. When clients hire us, they’re not just getting brokerage services; they’re getting a strategic roadmap. That leads to better pricing, better positioning, and ultimately better outcomes.
2025 was also a year where many owners needed clarity. Markets were still adjusting, interest rates were elevated relative to the prior decade, and there was a lot of noise. Our ability to cut through that noise and provide realistic, data-backed advice resonated strongly. Sellers who needed to transact gravitated toward certainty and probability of execution rather than simply optimism.
Finally, culture matters. We’ve built a lean, hungry, highly motivated team that embraces discipline and accountability. Everyone at BKREA understands that consistency beats intensity. When you combine that mindset with experience, specialization, and relentless preparation, strong results tend to follow.
Knakal: One of the most important things to understand about today’s market is that different property sectors are moving in very different directions. Unlike prior downturns, where everything moved down together, today’s market is highly segmented.
In New York City right now, land, development sites, and hotel properties are among the strongest-performing sectors. Land values have held up better than many expected, particularly in well-located areas where long-term fundamentals remain intact. Hotels have benefited from the elimination of about 23 percent of the stock of hotel rooms due to conversion to other uses, the return of tourism, business travel, and major events. Because of this, investor appetite has been strong for well-positioned assets.
Retail has also surprised many people on the upside. High-street retail in particular has seen renewed demand, and well-located neighborhood retail has proven remarkably resilient. Industrial remains strong, although supply dynamics vary significantly by submarket.
What these sectors have in common is clarity of use and demand. Investors understand how these assets generate income or create value, and they can underwrite them with confidence. In uncertain markets, clarity wins. Capital tends to flow toward property types where the path forward is understandable, executable, and supported by long-term fundamentals.
Knakal: The sectors facing the greatest challenges today are multifamily buildings, particularly rent-stabilized assets, and large portions of the B & C office market. In multifamily, the challenges are less about supply and demand and more about public policy. Rent regulation has created a level of uncertainty that materially impacts value, liquidity, and long-term investment decisions. HSTPA
The office sector is also bifurcated. Class A, newer construction office buildings are generally performing well, while Class B and C assets continue to face headwinds. Recently, this trend appears to be turning around as some of these assets were selling in the high $100s per square foot. Today, it is near impossible to find anything in the $200s and a real challenge to find something in the $300s. We appear to be on the way up here, but still remain significantly below market peaks of $800s and $900s.
These challenges don’t mean opportunity doesn’t exist, but they do mean that generalist advice is insufficient. Owners need very specific guidance around conversion feasibility, zoning, capital requirements, and timing. This is where deep specialization and institutional knowledge become critical.
Knakal: Because this is still, at its core, an information and relationship business. Technology, data, and AI are incredibly powerful tools, and we embrace all of them at BKREA, but they don’t replace trust. Trust is built face-to-face, over time, through consistency and presence.
When you show up, you learn things you simply cannot learn from a screen. You understand motivations, concerns, and nuances that never make it into a spreadsheet. Many of the best opportunities I’ve worked on over the years originated from conversations that had nothing to do with a specific deal at the time.
There’s also a discipline aspect to it. Attending events forces you to stay engaged, curious, and connected to the market in real time. Markets are shaped by people, and if you’re not talking to people constantly, you’re missing critical information. Last year, I attended 289 networking events and am off to a great start this year!
Consistency compounds. Showing up day after day, year after year, creates relationships and insight that become a durable competitive advantage.
Knakal: The Knakal Map Room continues to be one of the most effective tools I’ve ever built. It’s not a marketing exercise, it’s a working intelligence hub designed to help clients make better decisions.
Its effectiveness has only increased as additional data layers have been added. The Map is updated multiple times per week and allows us to start conversations at the city level: capital flows, zoning changes, development pipelines are all taken into consideration before narrowing down to a specific asset. That fundamentally changes how clients understand risk and opportunity.
If Harvard ultimately moves forward with a case study, I think it’s because the Map Room illustrates a broader lesson: visual, physical intelligence still matters. Seeing the city holistically creates insights that spreadsheets alone simply cannot. And the efficacy of such a resource is remarkable. Over the course of my career, I have won about 26 percent of my exclusive listing pitches. In The Knakal Map Room, we are now 77 for 79, more than a 97 percent win rate.
My only regret remains the same: I wish I had done this 30 years ago.
Knakal: I’m optimistic about 2026. We are coming out of a meaningful pricing reset, and many assets are now trading at levels that reflect reality rather than hope. In 2025, there were 691 properties sold equating to a 2.5% turnover rate. That is the seventh straight year with at-or-below-trend turnover. This is the longest such period we have ever seen. Even during the Savings & Loan Crisis in the early 1990s, the below trend period was only 6 years. There is certainly pent-up demand to sell and, at some point, that demand is going to bust out. 2026 could be the year.
Transaction volume will be driven by motivation and realism. Sellers who are aligned with today’s market will transact. Those waiting for dramatic interest rate declines may be waiting a long time. Historically, interest rates are not high by long-term standards, and markets adapt.
Different sectors will continue to perform very differently. Land, hotels, retail, and select development opportunities should remain active. Office and multifamily will require more creativity, expertise, and patience.
Overall, 2026 will reward discipline, preparation, and specialization. The future belongs to advisors who understand their niche deeply and can guide clients through complexity with clarity and confidence.
Knakal: We're genuinely thrilled to be a client of Crexi. It has become a platform we rely on daily. Every one of our exclusive listings is marketed through Crexi because the exposure is unmatched. It connects our deals with serious, high-quality investors we simply wouldn't reach otherwise.
What we love most is that Crexi has created a truly open marketplace. The search and discovery tools are incredibly intuitive, and the AI-powered matching consistently puts our properties in front of buyers who are actively underwriting similar opportunities. That intelligent targeting has been a game-changer for us.
From a prospecting perspective, our investor universe continues to expand week after week, and some of the strongest new relationships we've built recently have started through Crexi. The engagement and feedback we receive from investors has been outstanding.
We also use Crexi heavily for research. The combination of exceptional market data and AI-driven analytical tools has become an important part of how we prospect, evaluate, position opportunities and move quickly. At BKREA, we've always believed in blending proven fundamentals with the right technology, and Crexi does exactly that.
Our goal is always to maximize exposure and execution certainty for our clients, and Crexi is a key partner in helping us deliver on that commitment.
BKREA is an investment sales firm which exclusively represents sellers of investment properties and development sites in New York City.
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