Ryan Epstein is one of the Houston Business Journal's 2018 40 Under 40 honorees. Read about all the honorees here and join us June 7 from 6:30-9:30 p.m. at Saint Arnold Brewing Co. for our 40 Under 40 Awards.
Almost two decades ago in Arizona when then-college student Ryan Epstein got an internship with the apartment team at Grubb & Ellis, he knew little about apartments beyond the fact that he lived in one.
Fast forward to today and Epstein, senior managing director for multifamily investment sales at the commercial real estate firm Berkadia, said he relies on research and analytics to show investors how he knows the Houston market “better than anyone else.”
Epstein and his team dig into everything from growth patterns to local economic trends to tracking where Millennials are moving to provide insight to clients.
“I’m not just saying, ‘this area’s good, trust me I’ve been here forever,’” Epstein said.
Instead, that analytical insight helped Epstein grow from a newcomer in Houston’s commercial real estate game with virtually no clients or connections to someone who has completed almost $5 billion in transactions.
“A lot of people think you have to know someone in the industry, be someone’s kid or be in the inner circle,” Epstein said. He regularly fields questions from people seeking advice on how to break into the industry. He tells them to start wherever they can get in.
“You have to build your own brand, be the something that makes people want to work with you. You can’t be the same as everyone else,” he said.
In 2016, Epstein moved to Berkadia from CBRE Group Inc. (NYSE: CBG) where he had founded that company’s multifamily investment sales group in Houston. He brought along his team to Berkadia, where he sees an opportunity to bring more technology and data integration into the commercial real estate sector, to “do more faster.”
“We’ll be a tech company that does commercial real estate,” Epstein said.
Closer look: Ryan Epstein, senior managing director, Berkadia
Age: 37
Education: University of Arizona
Hometown: San Antonio
Worst piece of advice you’ve ever received: "Not to take big chances because of the risk that comes with it."
Guilty pleasure: "Blue Bell ice cream."
Favorite thing about Houston: "The amount of opportunity."
Favorite Houston restaurant: Houston’s
Fantasy career: "Professor at a university."
