Collaboration by design: Jason Moskowitz on building a stronger - Brokerage culture in New York City

Manhattan, NY New York City’s commercial real estate market runs on specialization. The city’s scale and complexity make expertise essential. At Marcus & Millichap, associate regional manager Jason Moskowitz has built his leadership approach around connecting that expertise across product types and markets. Collaboration, he says, is what turns individual strengths into stronger results for clients. 

“Our agents know their product types inside and out,” he said. “The difference is how we connect those areas of expertise. When information moves freely across teams, deals move faster and clients get better outcomes.”

He learned that lesson early, as he himself worked the industrial corridors of Northern Brooklyn for ten years. His clients owned diversified portfolios with assets spread across boroughs, outside his specialty. To better serve them, he began partnering with agents who knew those properties best. The deals moved faster, valuations improved, and clients came back with more business.

When he moved into management, he didn’t change how he thought about the business. He approached managing the office in the same way he approached a transaction, identifying who had the right market knowledge and how to connect them at the right moment. By staying close to production, he keeps collaboration practical, matching expertise to opportunity and turning market insight into results clients can see.

“There’s a reason people specialize,” he said. “When you get those agents working together on a deal, especially the caliber of agents we have, it increases the potential of getting the listing, getting it in front of the right investors, and closing at the highest price for the client.”

He keeps the conversation focused on the work. Weekly meetings are open forums where agents talk through active deals, shifts in pricing, and what’s driving investor demand. “Commercial real estate is still a people business,” he said. “You learn by being around other agents, hearing how they think through deals.”

Mentorship happens the same way. When a deal calls for added experience, he connects junior agents with senior producers who know the terrain and can help anticipate next steps. He says it’s less about oversight than giving people a view into how different producers operate. “The collaboration doesn’t happen over a call,” he said. “It happens when you’re sitting in the office and you hear someone talking about a deal that could align with a client you know. That’s how people learn to anticipate problems before they happen.”

That same communication extends through all channels of leadership within the firm. The Northeast team collaborates closely across offices and markets, sharing what they’re seeing and where support can add the most value. “We talk constantly about what’s working, not just at the deal level but in how we’re developing our people,” he said. “The alignment across leadership gives agents a sense that everyone’s on the same page. They feel it in the consistency of how we lead and in the way the office operates day to day. It’s how we make sure the clients’ best interests stay at the center of every conversation.”

In a market where many firms are still redefining what office culture means, he sees value in proximity. The business still runs best on shared energy. The conversations that happen in real time across desks and teams sharpen instinct and keep people connected to the work. It’s how collaboration turns into better outcomes for clients.

That focus on connection is more than a management style; it’s how a brokerage stays relevant in a city that never stops moving. Collaboration keeps the Manhattan office informed, the agents engaged, and the business aligned with what clients need next. It’s the foundation of a culture built to perform.

Collaboration is not a buzzword at Marcus & Millichap. It is how we operate. From training to strategy to closing deals, teamwork is built into the day-to-day, and it is something we actively structure, not just encourage.

I learned that early in my career as an agent. I focused on industrial properties in Northern Brooklyn, but I quickly saw that serving clients well often meant looking beyond your own product specialty. To get better results, I partnered with brokers who had strengths where I didn’t. That experience shaped how I work today as an associate regional manager. My goal is to help agents understand that collaboration is not a fallback plan. It is a competitive advantage.

That mindset is something we build into the structure of the office. One of the first things I changed in this role was how we group agents during activity reviews. Instead of organizing by team, we group by experience level. That shift created space for more open conversations. Agents share what they are working on, how they are approaching deals, and where they are getting stuck. It opens the door to new ideas and new partnerships.

Collaboration starts at the top. As a regional management team, we work closely across offices to stay aligned not just on strategy, but on how we show up for our agents every day. That level of communication creates consistency, helps us move faster, and builds the strong leadership network agents rely on for support, problem-solving, and growth.

One recent deal illustrates how this all comes together. A newer agent I mentor sourced a development opportunity, but it was outside of his product type. After vetting the opportunity with him, I introduced a senior agent with deep experience in that space. They are now working the deal together, combining new energy with proven expertise. The client benefits from a stronger team, and both agents grow from the experience.

Beyond one-on-one mentorship, we also create structured opportunities for peer learning. Senior agents often lead planning sessions, walk through market strategy, or co-host client conversations with newer professionals. These interactions go a long way in shaping how agents learn to approach the business — not just with technical knowledge, but with a team-first mindset.

At Marcus & Millichap, we talk often about the entrepreneurial mindset. But that does not mean agents are expected to figure it all out on their own. Our job as managers is to stay involved, to help them think strategically, and to encourage the kind of collaboration that leads to long-term success. The agents who thrive here are not just strong individual performers. They understand that lasting growth comes from learning alongside others and contributing to a shared culture of success. That mindset is part of what keeps top talent in the firm, and it is a key reason we continue to attract professionals who want more than just a desk and a call list.

That is not just how we operate in Manhattan. It is how we operate across the region.