ORLANDO—Commercial real estate brokerages have been steadily consolidating over the past couple of years. Larger firms are gobbling up smaller ones.

One of the most notable deals this year is the $2 billion merger of Cushman & Wakefield and DTZ. DTZ's parent company, TPG Capital, is shelling out big bucks to buy CushWake from Exor SpA, its majority owner.

“This reminds me of the public accounting industry in the 70s and 80s, when we had eight big account firms,” Larry Richey, senior managing director and Florida Market Leader at CushWake, told panelists at the RealShare Central Florida conference earlier this month. “Through mergers and acquisitions we wound up with four and it's been that way with decades.”

Against that backdrop, Richey predicted that M&A activity in the regional, national, and boutique firm space is going to be very active in the days ahead. This is due, in part, to the multiples used for valuation for commercial real estate companies. They are up 50% over just two years ago and owners are moving to capitalize on their investment.

“You're going to hear a lot more about mergers and acquisitions,” Richey says. “I think you'll find the big three firms very active in trying to acquire that talent and become even bigger. But there's always space for the best regional or boutique firm as well.”

CBRE has acquired more than 70 real estate companies since 2005. Canada's Avison Young has been on a streak of acquiring commercial real estate companies. Cassidy Turley, Resource Real Estate Partners, and NAI are also among the firms wheeling and dealing in recent years.