The Distribution by Juniper Square

The Overcaution Discount: How Tightening Supply Makes Today's Commercial Real Estate Undervalued - Hessam Nadji - CEO of Marcus & Millichap

The Distribution by Juniper Square

Show Notes

Hessam Nadji, President and CEO of Marcus & Millichap, joins Brandon Sedloff to share his remarkable journey from immigrating to the United States from Iran to leading one of the largest commercial real estate brokerage firms in the country. Hessam reflects on the formative experiences that shaped his career, how an entry-level data entry role at Grubb & Ellis sparked a lifelong passion for research and analytics, and why he believed early on that commercial real estate would evolve from a relationship-driven business into a consultative, data-informed profession. The conversation explores Marcus & Millichap’s growth, the firm's enduring focus on serving private clients, and how technology, AI, and changing market dynamics are reshaping the future of commercial real estate.

They discuss:

• Hessam’s immigration story, family entrepreneurship roots, and unconventional path into commercial real estate

• How research, analytics, and consultative selling transformed brokerage and created new opportunities for advisors

• The evolution of Marcus & Millichap’s private client and institutional businesses, including the creation of Institutional Property Advisors (IPA)

• How AI is changing brokerage, data analysis, client service, and the future role of commercial real estate professionals

• Why current market uncertainty may be creating attractive opportunities across commercial real estate asset classes

• The long-term outlook for supply, capital allocation, and wealth creation through commercial real estate investing

Topics:

(00:00:00) - Intro (00:02:19) - Hessam’s background and career (00:22:01) - The journey to becoming CEO of Marcus & Millichap (00:36:38) - The state of the firm in 2026 (00:47:05) - The structural changes happening in the market (00:52:28) - Shallow buyer supply (00:54:18) - Most misunderstood concepts about CRE as an asset class

Links:

Hessam on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/hessam-nadji/

Marcus & Millichap - https://www.marcusmillichap.com/

Juniper Square - ⁠https://www.junipersquare.com/⁠

Brandon on LinkedIn - ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandonsedloff/⁠

More from The Distribution by Juniper Square

Oct 20, 2026

Brandon Sedloff and Andrea Auerbach sit down at the IPEM Private Markets Conference in Paris to explore how institutional allocators navigate today's complex private markets landscape. Andrea, who leads Cambridge Associates' global private investments team, brings 25 years of experience sourcing and underwriting private equity, venture capital, and co-investment opportunities for about 1,000 clients across hundreds of billions in assets. The conversation on The Distribution covers how the private markets have evolved from simple buyout strategies 30 years ago into a fragmented ecosystem of thousands of specialized managers, and why that complexity creates both opportunity and challenge for allocators today.

Oct 13, 2026

Brandon Sedloff and Adel Alderbas sit down at the IPEM Private Markets Conference in Paris to discuss Wafra's distinctive approach to middle market investing. Alderbas, Chief Investment Officer at Wafra, shares how the firm leverages its dual DNA as both GP and LP to build partnerships across a $30 billion platform. The conversation explores how Wafra identifies investor entrepreneurs, structures minority GP stakes to preserve founder control, and executes operational roll-ups in overlooked sectors where institutional capital rarely ventures.

Oct 6, 2026

Brandon Sedloff and Jamie Montgomery explore the power of compounding across networks, knowledge, and capital in this episode of The Distribution. Montgomery, founder and managing partner at March Capital, shares insights from a forty-year career spanning aerospace consulting, merchant banking, and venture investing. The conversation traces his path from caddying for stockbrokers in 1960s Seattle to building an early growth fund that has deployed close to $2.5 billion, with a decade-long focus on AI before it became mainstream.

Sep 29, 2026

Brandon Sedloff and Matt Adler explore the world of small bay industrial real estate and the path from family business to independent fund manager. Adler, founder and managing partner of Adler Real Estate Partners, shares how he spun out of a third-generation family operation to build a specialized platform focused exclusively on multi-tenant light industrial properties across the Sun Belt. The conversation on The Distribution reveals why this once under-the-radar asset class has become one of real estate's most sought-after sectors and how focused operators compete when larger managers enter the space.

Sep 22, 2026

Brandon Sedloff and Russ Flicker explore the institutional hotel business and the journey from practicing real estate law to building a vertically integrated hospitality firm. Flicker shares how AWH Partners emerged from a borrowed desk during the Great Recession and what shaped his approach to investing through work at the Trump Organization and Blackstone. The conversation covers how AWH differentiates itself through in-house management and development capabilities, and why Flicker believes middle-market hotel assets present compelling opportunities today.

See all episodes →