Walker & Dunlop, Inc. announced today that it closed on the previously announced acquisition of Zelman & Associates (“Zelman”), the leading housing research and investment banking firm in the United States. Zelman’s talented team and housing-focused research and advisory capabilities 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.
The combination of Zelman’s research and market insights with Walker & Dunlop’s growing property sales platform, which continues to add top talent including a team in Denver, Colorado last week, will be a differentiator for that area of the business on its path to growing sales volume to $25 billion by 2025. In addition, Walker & Dunlop is focused on expanding its debt financing business to $65 billion of annual originations by 2025, and part of that growth will be driven by an increased demand for single-family rental (SFR) and build-for-rent (BFR) financing. Zelman’s insights into the single-family housing market, including the SFR and BFR spaces, and client relationships are unmatched in the industry, and will accelerate Walker & Dunlop’s growth in this specialized area of the multifamily market. Finally, Zelman’s housing-focused investment banking capabilities will serve as a foundation for Walker & Dunlop’s investment banking platform, a key component of its Drive to ’25 objectives.
“We are thrilled to officially welcome the Zelman team to Walker & Dunlop,” stated Chairman and CEO 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.”
About Walker & Dunlop
Walker & Dunlop (NYSE: WD) is 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. Walker & Dunlop enables real estate owners and operators to bring their visions of communities — where Americans live, work, shop and play — to life. The power of our people, premier brand, and industry-leading technology make us more insightful and valuable to our clients, providing an unmatched experience every step of the way. With over 1,000 employees across every major U.S. market, Walker & Dunlop has consistently been named one of Fortune’s Great Places to Work® and is committed to making the commercial real estate industry more inclusive and diverse while creating meaningful social, environmental, and economic change in our communities.
About Zelman & Associates
Founded in 2007 by Ivy Zelman and Dennis McGill, Zelman & Associates is the leading institutional research advisory and investment banking firm dedicated exclusively to the U.S. housing industry. Zelman provides distinguished institutional research and investment banking capabilities with the highest levels of client service, trust, sophistication and credibility unique to the housing, institutional research and investment banking industries.
All securities offered through Zelman Partners LLC, a registered broker dealer and member of FINRA and SIPC.
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