Marcus & Millichap posted gains in sales and deals in the second quarter, but said an accounting-related tax expense led to a loss.
The national investment brokerage’s revenue rose 8.8% to $172.3 million in the quarter from the same time in 2024, led by increases in financing, broker commissions and transactions. Executives said there are signs of a gradual recovery in property transactions and borrowing.
Despite the gains, the Calabasas, California-based firm attributed its $11 million loss for the quarter to changes in its accounting methodology that resulted in an "outsized" $7.3 million tax expense.
Marcus & Millichap, the last of the major publicly traded real estate firms with brokerages to post quarterly results, does not provide earnings guidance. But the firm joined CBRE, JLL, Newmark, Cushman & Wakefield and Colliers in posting revenue gains as executives predict deal activity will pick up steadily for the rest of the year.
“Our business continued to show improvement during the quarter despite ongoing headwinds from the prolonged market disruption, and a degree of added volatility from the initial tariff announcements,” CEO Hessam Nadji said during an earnings call on Thursday.
Nadji highlighted several strategic initiatives during the quarter, including a management reorganization launched in May to streamline decision-making and boost agent productivity.
Financing revenue rises
Quarterly financing fee revenue jumped almost 44% to $26.3 million from the year-earlier period, reflecting a surge in loan volume — in part because of tighter integration between the firm’s investment sales and capital markets teams, executives said.
The firm said it is also expanding its internal platform that helps agents match properties with potential buyers.
“The integration of services has resulted in sizable gains in our agency debt origination over the last two years,” Nadji said during the earnings call.
Marcus & Millichap's private client brokerage revenue rose about 10% to $93.5 million as transaction volume jumped 12% from the year-earlier period.
Nadji credited those increases to improved client outreach and more realistic pricing expectations among sellers.
“We’re seeing improvement in loan terms, and more lenders quoting on our private client financing assignments,” he added.