The Mogharebi Group hired real estate veteran James Giblin to helm the multifamily brokerage and advisory firm’s new office in Portland, Oregon, a market where apartment demand has dropped over the past year.
Giblin, who has spent most of his nearly 40-year career in the Portland apartment market, joins the Costa Mesa, California-based Mogharebi Group as a senior vice president.
He joins Mogharebi Group as the Portland multifamily market struggles to rebound, according to CoStar data.
"Multifamily demand in Portland continues its drastic recalibration from recent highs," according to a recent report from CoStar Market Analytics. "Net absorption as of the third quarter of 2023 totals 2,200 units on a trailing 12-month basis, a massive reduction from peak performance of 11,000 units in the third quarter of 2021, and now closer to the historical average of 3,000 units."
The pipeline of new apartments underway in Portland could exacerbate the situation because most of the units being built are expensive and likely will be harder to rent in the current choppy economic climate, the report said.
"Potentially even more concerning for landlords of luxury communities, Portland's unit mix currently under construction heavily favors high-end product," according to the report. "Upon completion of this cycle, the balance of existing inventory will move the 4 & 5 Star class essentially even with 3 Star product."
Mogharebi Group's new office at 1050 W. 6th Ave. will support the increasing investments of Mogharebi Group’s clients in the Pacific Northwest, Alex Mogharebi said in a statement. Giblin will work with Robert Parmar and Ryan Kidwell, who lead the group's Seattle office that opened in August 2021.
Giblin was previously the president and principal broker of The Giblin Company, a real estate investment firm he founded in 2013. Before that, Giblin was a broker with Marcus & Millichap.
The Brigham Young University graduate has closed nearly $1 billion in transactions across Oregon, Washington, California, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas.
The Mogharebi Group, founded by multifamily industry veteran Alex Mogharebi, also has offices in Southern and Central California; Las Vegas; Albuquerque, New Mexico; Salt Lake City; and Seattle.
The firm said it has closed more than $1 billion in apartment transactions totaling more than 100,000 units since it opened in 2016.