Walker & Dunlop has closed on its acquisition of Zelman & Associates, a housing research and investment banking firm with offices in New York and Ohio.
Zelman’s team and housing-focused research and advisory capabilities will support many of Walker & Dunlop’s strategic growth initiatives, including expansion of its property sales platform, growth in its core debt financing business, and development of investment banking capabilities.
Walker & Dunlop is aiming to grow its property sales platform to $25 billion by 2025 and is also focused on expanding its debt financing business to $65 billion of annual originations by 2025.
Part of that growth will be driven by an increased demand for single-family rental (SFR) and build-for-rent (BFR) financing, and area where Zelman insights and client relationships are unmatched in the industry.
“We are thrilled to officially welcome the Zelman team to Walker & Dunlop,” stated Chairman and CEOÂ Willy Walker.
“Every area of our business will benefit from the exceptional research and advisory capabilities that Zelman has built over the past fifteen years. In particular, Walker & Dunlop’s use of data and technology has driven fantastic growth in new clients we are attracting and new refinancings we are adding to our servicing portfolio. As we merge our data with Zelman’s proprietary research, market surveys, and analytics, we will generate even more actionable insights, further differentiating us in the market and making us a more valuable partner to our clients.”
Walker & Dunlop is currently the largest provider of capital to the multifamily industry in the United States and the fourth largest lender on all commercial real estate including industrial, office, retail, and hospitality.
The company has over 1,000 employees across every major U.S. market.
Zelman & Associates was founded in 2007 by Ivy Zelman and Dennis McGill and has grown to become the leading institutional research advisory and investment banking firm dedicated exclusively to the U.S. housing industry.