Until now, the group has focused on assignments in Northern New Jersey, New York--sans the city--and Fairfield County, CT. Since 2004, the team has completed around $2 billion worth of multifamily sales in this market area including the recent $71-million trade of Fox Run Apartments in Plainsboro, NJ, which represented the Garden State's largest multifamily rental property sale of 2009.

"The Philadelphia, South Jersey and Delaware market is a natural extension for us," says Merin. "Cushman & Wakefield's Philadelphia team already has an established presence on the ground, with a well-qualified team of professionals in this dynamic market." According to Whitmer, this expanded regional approach will enable the team to enhance service for its clients. "We now cover a major geographic span for multifamily--from Upstate New York to Western Pennsylvania," he tells GlobeSt.com. "Many of the private and institutional investors with whom we have relationships are active throughout the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions as buyers and sellers."

Karen Iman, senior director of the Philadelphia-based capital markets team, will work closely with the group from New Jersey as the local anchor to launch and execute multifamily investment sales, adds Paul Torosian, who heads Cushman & Wakefield's Philadelphia capital markets practice.