Last year, sales of apartment properties jumped 32%, to $150 billion, according to a report from New York–based Real Capital Analytics (RCA). That volume had a huge impact on the NMHC Top 50 Owners list, as companies like Starwood suddenly joined the exclusive rankings. Less obvious, though, was the influence this transaction volume had on the NMHC Top 50 Managers list.
As the big got bigger on the Owners list, the same seems to be happening on the Managers list. When a big institution buys a large portfolio in a new city, it often seeks to work with a familiar name. Sometimes, it pulls an existing manager along. Other times, these owners look for the biggest, most recognizable name. That benefits companies like Greystar and FPI Management (and incentivizes them to keep looking for growth opportunities), which are among the biggest firms in many markets they serve. But that’s not the only path to growth. As No. 45 ZRS Management shows, it’s possible to grow at a strong clip by being selective, too.
| Rank (2016) | Rank (2015) | Company Name |
Units Managed (2016) | Units Managed (2015) | Corporate Officer |
HQ City |
HQ State |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Greystar Real Estate Partners, LLC | 413679 | 393079 | Robert A. Faith | Charleston | SC |
| 2 | 2 | Lincoln Property Company | 165251 | 164416 | Tim Byrne | Dallas | TX |
| 3 | 3 | Pinnacle | 134725 | 131790 | Rick Graf | Dallas | TX |
| 4 | 4 | Equity Residential | 109540 | 109225 | David J. Neithercut | Chicago | IL |
| 5 | 5 | WinnCompanies | 98817 | 96955 | Gilbert Winn | Boston | MA |
| 6 | 8 | FPI Management, Inc. | 98401 | 76500 | Dennis Treadaway | Folsom | CA |
| 7 | 7 | Alliance Residential Company | 88028 | 82123 | Bruce Ward and V. Jay Hiemenz | Phoenix | AZ |
| 8 | 10 | Apartment Management Consultants, LLC | 80195 | 71483 | Greg Wiseman | Cottonwood Heights | UT |
| 9 | 6 | MAA | 79496 | 82316 | H. Eric Bolton, Jr. | Memphis | TN |
| 10 | 9 | AvalonBay Communities, Inc. | 73944 | 72323 | Timothy J. Naughton | Arlington | VA |
| 11 | 12 | BH Management Services, LLC | 69285 | 62040 | Harry Bookey | Des Moines | IA |
| 12 | 13 | Edward Rose Building Enterprise | 60453 | 59303 | Warren Rose | Bloomfield Hills | MI |
| 13 | 11 | Bell Partners Inc. | 60295 | 66202 | Steven D. Bell and Jonathan D. Bell | Greensboro | NC |
| 14 | 18 | Fairfield Residential Company LLC | 60157 | 52530 | Chris Hashioka | San Diego | CA |
| 15 | 15 | Camden Property Trust | 59792 | 58948 | Richard J. Campo | Houston | TX |
| 16 | 16 | Essex Property Trust, Inc. | 57670 | 55805 | Michael J. Schall | San Mateo | CA |
| 17 | 19 | Asset Plus Companies | 56357 | 51112 | Michael S. McGrath | Houston | TX |
| 18 | 17 | Hunt/LEDIC Realty Company Associates | 53829 | 54113 | Chris Hunt and Pierce Ledbetter | El Paso | TX |
| 19 | 14 | Aimco | 53660 | 58981 | Terry Considine | Denver | CO |
| 20 | 21 | The Bozzuto Group | 53013 | 50556 | Thomas S. Bozzuto | Greenbelt | MD |
| 21 | 26 | The Michaels Organization | 52556 | 44589 | John J. O'Donnell | Marlton | NJ |
| 22 | 20 | The ConAm Group | 52000 | 51000 | Rob Singh | San Diego | CA |
| 23 | 22 | UDR, Inc. | 50646 | 50268 | Thomas W. Toomey | Highlands Ranch | CO |
| 24 | 25 | Balfour Beatty Communities | 49504 | 44838 | Christopher Williams | Malvern | PA |
| 25 | 23 | The Related Companies | 48787 | 48530 | Jeff Blau | New York | NY |
| 26 | 29 | Weidner Apartment Homes | 43878 | 41175 | Jack O'Connor | Kirkland | WA |
| 27 | 28 | Westdale Real Estate Investment & Management | 43390 | 41491 | Joseph G. Beard | Dallas | TX |
| 28 | 32 | Village Green | 42805 | 38669 | Jonathan Holtzman | Detroit/Chicago | MI |
| 29 | 30 | American Campus Communities | 41845 | 43205 | Bill Bayless | Austin | TX |
| 30 | GoldOller Real Estate Companies | 40820 | 38741 | Richard Oller | Philadelphia | PA | |
| 31 | 31 | U.S. Residential Group LLC | 40011 | 38942 | Stephanie Brock | Dallas | TX |
| 32 | 24 | CFLane, LLC | 39703 | 47128 | Byron Cocke | Atlanta | GA |
| 33 | 33 | Forest City Residential Group, Inc. | 39178 | 37121 | Ronald A. Ratner | Cleveland | OH |
| 34 | Steadfast Companies | 34806 | 26529 | Christopher Hilbert | Irvine | CA | |
| 35 | 45 | RAM Partners, LLC | 34708 | 29224 | Bill Leseman | Atlanta | GA |
| 36 | 34 | Capstone Real Estate Services, Inc. | 34360 | 34360 | James W Berkey | Austin | TX |
| 37 | 50 | The Lynd Company | 34218 | 26992 | Michael J. Lynd Jr | San Antonio | TX |
| 38 | 41 | Morgan Properties | 32384 | 31500 | Mitchell L. Morgan | King of Prussia | PA |
| 39 | 38 | The John Stewart Company | 32372 | 32020 | Jack D. Gardner | San Francisco | CA |
| 40 | 35 | Milestone Management, LLC | 32245 | 33816 | Steve Lamberti | Dallas | TX |
| 41 | Cortland Partners, LLC | 32241 | 26422 | Steven DeFrancis | Atlanta | GA | |
| 42 | 39 | Bridge Investment Group Partners | 31649 | 32155 | Danuel R. Stanger | Salt Lake City | UT |
| 43 | 36 | Gables Residential | 31487 | 33440 | Sue Ansel | Atlanta | GA |
| 44 | Kettler Management | 30828 | 24953 | Bob Kettler | Tysons | VA | |
| 45 | ZRS Management, LLC | 30410 | 26140 | Steve Buck | Orlando | FL | |
| 46 | 47 | Edgewood Management Corporation | 29500 | 28784 | Cindy Sanquist | Germantown | MD |
| 47 | 44 | Sentinel Real Estate Corporation | 29000 | 30000 | John H. Streicker | New York | NY |
| 48 | Monarch Investment and Management Group | 28547 | 20520 | Bob Nicolls | Franktown | CO | |
| 49 | 43 | Drucker & Falk | 28458 | 30075 | Kellie Falk | Newport News | VA |
| 50 | Pegasus Residential | 27634 | 25823 | Lindy D. Ware | Alpharetta | GA |
