Q & A with Parker, vice president and regional manager at Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services

Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services recently opened its newest office located at 50 Main St. The New York Real Estate Journal was able to squeeze in some time with J.D. Parker, a vice president of the firm, who will oversee this office and continue to oversee the firm's Manhattan and New Haven, Conn., offices as regional manager. Q: Why did you expand to White Plains? A: It was a natural progression to expand into the White Plains marketplace. With offices in Brooklyn, Manhattan, Northern Jersey, and New Haven, it was an opportune time to fill in our geographic footprint in the region and White Plains was the next logical market for us to open an office in. We have had our eye on the market for some time and it made sense for us to make a move as we had grown rapidly in the region the last several years as we have taken advantage of the current economic climate. Q: Why did you acquire a team of agents in White Plains? A; It was an incredible opportunity to partner with a highly regarded and experienced agent, Joe French, in that marketplace who already had an established business. It was mutually beneficial to partner with him and bring him on board. He has an existing book of business and is extremely talented, which will add to what we're doing in the region, significantly in regards to our retail presence and allowing us to better serve our clients. Q: How will this affect your clients in the region? A: The opening of the office provided a great opportunity to better serve our current clients in the region. We have been doing business in those markets for over a decade and have grown our presence steadily over the last number of years. Q: What other advantages do you see in opening White Plains? A: There is a significant talent pool of qualified candidates that work and live in the submarkets in Westchester and southern Connecticut that aren't interested in working in N.Y.C. anymore, they're possibly at a different phase in their career and this is an opportunity for us to draw from that very large talented pool of people and give them an opportunity to work out of our new White Plains office. Our agents don't just work a local business plan, because of our sales and financing platform, agents are able to work across the region and often have a national focus on their businesses. Q: How do the markets in Westchester and southern Connecticut align with your business plan? A: This Westchester and southern Connecticut marketplace aligns with our current business plan very well. We are focused on the private client and institutional sectors of the investment sales market and it's a natural fit for us to expand in White Plains because there is a vast amount of business in that region. We've already created a footprint with our existing agents and clients and we are looking to grow that business significantly over the next several years. With the addition of Joe French and his team along with our existing team and future hiring that we plan to do in the region, we are continuing to build out the #1 investment sales and financing team in the region.