ORLANDO-Colliers International is among the commercial real estate brokerages announcing fresh blood for the New Year. George Pjevach and Greg Wilson, two seasoned Florida multifamily real estate brokers, are officially on board. The duo will focus on buyer and buyer and seller representation for multifamily investors in Central Florida.

Pjevach and Wilson have more than 50 years of combined commercial real estate experience, working with clients locally, regionally and nationally. They join Colliers as directors of Multifamily Services. Both men join the firm from Marcus & Millichap, where they served as members of the National Multi-Family Housing Group.

“The Orlando multifamily market is very healthy,” Wilson tells GlobeSt.com. Wilson has completed more than 400 investment transactions and in the last nine months alone he brokered the sale of more than $46 million in multifamily assets. He says Orlando boasts one of the five fastest-improving multifamily markets in the US, with overall vacancies in the single digits and down about 6% in the last 12 months.

“With vacancies in single digits in most submarkets, many properties have also been able to raise rents $75 to $100 per unit over the past year,” says Wilson. “Most, but not all, have reduced incentives such as free rent to a max of one half month, or approximately 3%.”

Orlando is also fifth nationally in anticipated demand. Coupled with that fact, less than 2,500 new units were brought on line in 2011. With demand at approximately 9,000 units per year, Wilson says net absorption is headed in the right direction and Orlando is predicted to be one of the first markets nationally to see new construction of multifamily.

“Moving forward in 2012, multifamily product in Orlando will see very, very little new development. In existing product, occupancies will rise, rents will rise, and sales prices will rise,” Wilson says. “Less than 10% to 15% of the sales will be distressed. Orlando has seen the bottom for multifamily, and that was approximately 12 to 18 months ago.”