Q&A with David Harrington, President of Matthews Real Estate Investment Services

David Harrington serves as President of Matthews Real Estate Investment Services™, supporting company growth and overseeing critical operations. His 20-plus years of experience in commercial real estate has given him the opportunity to work in various roles within the company, bringing a strategic vision and relentless work ethic. Prior to his current role, David sat as Executive Vice President and Managing Director, leading the expansion of the company’s multifamily division and recruitment efforts. David grew the company’s reach into emerging markets, locating opportunities in submarkets and specialized assets. Dave displays a clear commitment to growing Matthews’ brand through extensive recruiting efforts, clear marketing initiatives, and cohesive teamwork.

As President, David collaborates with executives and market leaders across the company to strategize, innovate, and improve upon practices to continue building Matthews™ as a leading force in the industry. Harrington is a long-standing member of the company’s executive board and has successfully overseen dozens of company achievements including, office openings, senior and executive level hires, industry acquisitions, and more.

Tell us about your journey into CRE. What initially drew you to the industry?

I graduated from Florida State University with a degree in real estate and figured if I was going to work for a living, it might as well be in something I understood. I sort of bumbled into brokerage, but once I saw the entrepreneurial spirit and the “eat what you kill” nature of the business, I was all in. I started in multifamily investment sales, which quickly made sense to me as an investment vehicle. It was a great introduction to the asset class and to how capital actually works in commercial real estate.

As President of Matthews™, what are your primary responsibilities, and how do they contribute to the firm’s overall success?

At a fast-growing company, you wear a lot of hats. My core focus is making sure our growth is intentional and that we protect our culture while scaling. I work directly with leaders across the firm to grow our market share in investment sales, leasing, and debt origination. I also lead a strategy for expanding into new service lines that will create diversified and sustainable revenue for the firm.

Creating strong personal habits often leads to success inside and outside of work. Can you walk us through some of your own practices that you follow to stay productive and focused?

We are constantly navigating the difference between what is important and what is urgent. If you do not deliberately carve out time to be on offense, you end up stuck reacting to everything. I build my days and weeks in advance with discipline. That planning helps me push long-term initiatives forward. Then it comes down to execution and regularly reviewing how I am spending my time to make sure I stay efficient and effective.

You joined Matthews™ in 2016, during its formative years. What has been your favorite part about seeing the company grow?

It has been seeing Matthews™ become a top 10 commercial real estate brokerage by transaction volume. That kind of growth does not happen by accident. It is the result of the culture we built and the real value we continue delivering to clients and agents.

What piece of advice would you give to agents that want to establish a career in CRE?

Understand the opportunity and also the challenges that come with building your own business. The foundation is always relationships, and the way you earn relationships is by consistently adding value. To do that, you need to develop deep expertise in your asset class. Use that knowledge to create an edge that helps you start meaningful conversations with active investors. If you stay focused on that long enough, the relationships and results will follow. Also, do not quit. 

How do you see the CRE industry performing throughout the rest of this year?

Uncertainty is a constant in this business, but the past few years have been especially volatile. With ongoing tariff discussions and broader questions about the economy, there is still some hesitation in the market. That said, I expect commercial real estate transaction volume to increase compared to last year. Agents who stay focused and keep building relationships are going to ride a much stronger wave in the second half of 2025 and into 2026.

With Matthews™ approaching its 10-year anniversary, what milestones are you most proud of in terms of the company’s growth? Are there any specific goals the company is focusing on as it enters this next phase?

We recently surpassed 1,000 agents and employees, which is a major milestone. We have expanded into markets across the country, but I am most excited about deepening our presence in large metro areas where we are still gaining momentum. Markets like Houston, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, and Boston are big priorities for us moving forward.

In your opinion, what differentiates Matthews™ from other brokerage firms?

Most owners, and even many agents, do not fully understand the differences between brokerage companies. From day one, we built Matthews™ to be fundamentally different. Our culture, technology, shared services platform, and centralized database are all designed to drive better outcomes for clients and agents. 

Our shared services platform gives agents their time back so they can focus on revenue-generating work. That creates direct value for clients because their agent is doing the job they were actually hired to do, not getting bogged down with administration or operations.

Our centralized database includes every asset class and every market in the country. It connects property data with ownership, capital sources, brokers, and third parties so we can reach the broadest pool of qualified buyers and decision-makers. 

Our technology ties everything together. We track real-time digital behavior like email clicks, website visits, and offering memorandum downloads. That intelligence helps us get the right opportunities in front of the right people and increases engagement across the board.

Beyond its role as an investment-services firm, Matthews™ is recognized for its technology-driven approach. Can you elaborate on how the company plans to enhance its operations over the next 12-24 months?

Honestly, I could write an entirely separate article on what we are building with technology. Because we started less than a decade ago, we had the advantage of building on a clean slate. We have never stopped evolving.

Right now, our biggest innovation is ATLAS, a fully integrated platform designed specifically for commercial real estate brokerage. It allows agents to manage prospecting, data, and workflow in one place. We have built in significant AI functionality to simplify the entire process and improve every step of the brokerage lifecycle. This is not technology for the sake of it. It is about creating real efficiency and giving our agents an edge that ultimately benefits our clients.