Interview with Justin Mullen, President at Hyatt Commercial

Justin joined Hyatt Commercial in 2017 with more than 10 years’ experience in the commercial real estate industry. As President, Justin directs the overall operations of the Hyatt Commercial Brokerage company to include the management of more than 18 agents, strategic planning, business development, and branding / marketing. In his role as President and Broker, Justin has assisted clients in a variety of industries to develop real estate strategies that maximize their resources and recognize targeted business and real estate goals. As a Principal of the Reliable Group, Justin supports the sales, leasing, and acquisition strategies of the company’s growing portfolio of real estate assets.

Justin is a 6th generation Annapolitan and a graduate of St. Mary’s High School and the University of Virginia with deep roots in the real estate and business communities across the Mid-Atlantic. He is an active member of the Touchdown Club of Annapolis, the Royal Blue Club of St. Mary’s, and the Virginia Lacrosse Alumni Network. In his free time, Justin enjoys playing golf as a member of the United States Naval Academy Golf Club, as well as spending time on the Chesapeake Bay with his family and friends.

Career: I spent 10 years as a broker with MacKenzie Commercial working between the Columbia and Annapolis offices focused on office, flex, and industrial leasing and sales. In 2017 I left MacKenzie to work side by side with Lou and Alan Hyatt running the Hyatt Brokerage team. At the time we were a subsidiary of Severn Bank, a publicly traded community bank based in Annapolis. In January 2021, I partnered with Joe Brown, President of our Property Management Company and Alan Hyatt to purchase the company away from the bank as we merged with the services companies of Reliable forming The Reliable Group. In 2017 we had 5 brokers and with the recent addition of the Murphy Commercial team today we have 18 brokers. My role day to day is to manage the brokerage business with a focus on business development and providing the best resources possible for our brokers and clients.

Recent Transactions: We continue to think of ourselves as a boutique real estate firm which means we provide services catered specifically to our clients goals and expectations. We will run a full public sale process like we did with Rivers Corporate in Columbia in which we generated multiple offers and sold the 40,000sf office building millions of dollars above the targeted price. Additionally, we have been very successful targeting off-market opportunities for buyers and sellers to transact through a more private process like recent deals in Annapolis, 820 Bestgate Rd MOB, and 2500 Riva Rd land for town center re-development. Both of which were record breaking value transactions.

Market Update: The last 24 months or so has been a wild ride with company acquisitions and mergers as well as seeing our team breaking every company production record. The momentum has carried us right up through October with transaction volume still at all time highs. However, it’s hard to see a path forward that doesn’t include a fairly significant downturn. The last few years saw our production go from +/- 60% leasing revenue to almost 75% sale transaction revenue up to this point in 2022. With rates rising I expect a major slow down in sales. However, our target markets which are mostly outside of the urban cores continue to see increased activity in leasing of industrial, flex, retail, and even office in quality buildings and good locations.

Growth: We have been very strategic with our growth targeting people who fit our team oriented culture. We are a great place for brokers who are looking to take the next step in their career. Brokers that want to take a leadership role in creating their own teams and participate in the vision and growth of the company. I’d like to see us add an additional 5-10 brokers over the next few years. Brokers that bring a unique skill set, relationships, or business focus.

Justin currently lives in Annapolis with his wife Courtney and two young children.

Interview questions:

Introduction | Can you provide an introduction to Hyatt Commercial? Services, footprint, brokers…

Career | Your commercial real estate career started at MacKenzie Real Estate Services in 2008. Please provide an overview of your career.

Recent Transactions | What are some of Hyatt Commercials’ recent transactions? Ie. W. Central Avenue, Hanover Office, Ridgely Avenue…

Merger | In September, Hyatt Commercial and The Reliable Group joined forces with Murphy Commercial Real Estate. Tell us about Murphy Commercial Real Estate and its impact on Hyatt Commercial.

Portfolio | What are some of the highlights of Hyatt Commercial’s portfolio?

Team | Who are the key members of the team?

Market Update | Can you provide an overview of the market? Sales, leasing, office, strip retail, shopping centers, office build-to-suits, multifamily townhome communities..

Growth | What are the growth plans? Geographical expansion, new hires, acquisitions

Connect with Justin on LinkedIn

Hyatt Commercial is the brokerage arm of The Reliable Group, a full service CRE firm based in Annapolis Maryland. With 18 brokers we are largest brokerage firm Headquartered in A.A.Co. We provide 3rd party brokerage services throughout the mid-atlantic with active projects in MD, DE, VA, NC. Our largest footprint is in Central and Southern Maryland as well as the Eastern Shore. As a company we are generalist with brokers focused on sales and leasing of every major asset class. Office, Industrial, Retail, Land, Multi-Family, and marinas / maritime oriented.