Commercial real estate brokerages in Chicago, IL
Eight firms with a Chicago-area office we checked on their own websites. Two of the six national firms, JLL and Cushman & Wakefield, are headquartered here. The bigger split is downtown versus suburban and industrial, and several firms run a separate suburban office for it.
Last updated: 2026-10-20
Source: U.S. Census Bureau. 8 firms listed, every office checked 2026-10-20.
The local angle: downtown towers versus suburban and industrial Chicago
What the firms’ own Chicago pages say about this market. Market figures are each firm’s claim, not our measurement.
- JLL’s Chicago page names the I-55 and I-80 corridors as key arteries for regional distribution and logistics, alongside downtown trophy towers and suburban corporate campuses. (JLL Chicago location page)
- Suburban coverage varies by firm. CBRE lists Oak Brook, Colliers and Avison Young list Rosemont, Marcus & Millichap has a separate Oak Brook office, and NAI Hiffman is based in Oakbrook Terrace. (CBRE Chicago office page, Colliers Chicago city page, Avison Young Chicago location page, Marcus & Millichap office directory, Hiffman About Us page)
- Colliers Chicago traces its roots to Bennett & Kahnweiler, founded in 1947, which developed the 2,300-acre Centex Industrial Park in Elk Grove Village. (Colliers Chicago city page)
- Cushman & Wakefield’s corporate headquarters, 225 West Wacker Drive, is also its Chicago office. JLL’s results release gives an East Randolph Drive address in Chicago. (Cushman & Wakefield Ltd. 10-K for FY2025 (SEC), JLL FY2025 results release (Feb 18, 2026))
Pick by situation
Our read, based on what each firm’s local page and filings say. It is not a ranking of local teams. We have no Chicago deal data or client reviews yet.
| Your situation | What the sources show | Start with |
|---|---|---|
| Warehouse or distribution space along I-55, I-80 or near O’Hare | Colliers’ Chicago roots are in industrial, and it has a Rosemont office. JLL’s page calls out the I-55 and I-80 corridors. | Colliers, JLL |
| A suburban office lease | Colliers says it completed over 50% of the largest suburban office transactions in the past three years. That is its own claim. CBRE runs an Oak Brook office. | Colliers, CBRE |
| A downtown headquarters or large office lease | CBRE says it has been #1 on Crain’s Chicago Business Largest Brokers list every year since 2004. Cushman & Wakefield says it has over 650 Chicago employees. | CBRE, Cushman & Wakefield, JLL |
| A local, independent shop with management under one roof | NAI Hiffman was founded in 1981 and has been NAI Global’s Chicago partner since 1985. Its management arm, Hiffman National, serves markets nationwide. | NAI Hiffman |
National firms in Chicago
Scores are firm-wide, the same as on the main ranking. They do not rate the Chicago office.
| Firm | Local office | What the local page says | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| CBRE 7.8/10 · Recommend | 300 N LaSalle, Suite 600, Chicago, IL 60654; 700 Commerce Drive, Suite 200, Oak Brook, IL 60523 | Says it has served Chicago since 1975, and has been #1 on Crain’s Largest Brokers list every year since 2004. | Local page |
| JLL 7.5/10 · Recommend | Local team confirmed on JLL’s location page. JLL’s results release gives 200 East Randolph Drive, Chicago as its investor contact address. | Lists leasing, tenant representation, property management, project and development services, debt advisory and investment sales across Chicagoland. | Local page |
| Cushman & Wakefield 6.5/10 · Conditional recommend | 225 West Wacker Drive, Suite 3000, Chicago, IL 60606 | Says it has over 650 employees in Chicago. This is also the firm’s corporate headquarters address, per its 10-K. | Local page |
| Colliers 6.8/10 · Conditional recommend | 71 South Wacker Drive, Suite 3700, Chicago, IL 60606; 6250 North River Road, Suite 11-100, Rosemont, IL 60018 | Says it has more than 300 advisors, property managers and staff, and manages over 300 properties totaling more than 56 million square feet. | Local page |
| Newmark 5.8/10 · Not recommended | 333 West Wolf Point Plaza, 22nd Floor, Suite 2200, Chicago, IL 60654 | Says it has brokerage, finance, consulting and project management teams, and has added capital markets professionals. | Local page |
| Marcus & Millichap 5.2/10 · Not recommended | 333 West Wacker Drive, Suite 200, Chicago, IL 60606 (Chicago Downtown) | Lists office, retail, multifamily, hospitality, manufactured housing and medical office investment sales. A separate Oak Brook office appears in the firm’s directory. | Local page |
Independent and regional firms
Profiled from each firm’s own pages. Not scored.
| Firm | Address | What the firm says | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Avison Young Principal-owned international firm · not scored | 1 South Wacker Drive, Suite 3000, Chicago, IL 60606 (Downtown); plus a Rosemont office | Says its Rosemont office covers suburban submarkets and Southern Wisconsin. Its location page says its Principals are the owners and leaders of the business. | Firm page |
| NAI Hiffman Chicago-area independent, NAI Global member · not scored | Headquartered in Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois | Founded in 1981. It became NAI Global’s Chicago regional partner in 1985. NAI Hiffman runs its Chicago brokerage, and Hiffman National is its management platform. | Firm page |
Left out: Hiffman’s About page gives its headquarters town but no street address, so we show the town only. Office claims such as “leading” or “largest” are the firms’ own words.
Chicago brokers we profile
Individual broker profiles, alphabetical by last name. Not a ranking. See how we verify brokers.
| Broker | Firm | Specialty | Verified |
|---|---|---|---|
| John Suerth, SIOR | CBRE | Industrial leasing and sales | SIOR confirmed; CoStar Power Broker 2025; Named deal |
Questions
Which national commercial brokerages have an office in Chicago?
All six firms in our national ranking list a local office or team: CBRE (300 N LaSalle, Suite 600, Chicago, IL 60654); JLL (team on its location page); Cushman & Wakefield (225 West Wacker Drive, Suite 3000, Chicago, IL 60606); Colliers (71 South Wacker Drive, Suite 3700, Chicago, IL 60606); Newmark (333 West Wolf Point Plaza, 22nd Floor, Suite 2200, Chicago, IL 60654); Marcus & Millichap (333 West Wacker Drive, Suite 200, Chicago, IL 60606 (Chicago Downtown)). Each is confirmed on the firm’s own site.
Which independent or regional firms are listed for Chicago?
We list Avison Young: Principal-owned international firm; NAI Hiffman: Chicago-area independent, NAI Global member. They are profiled from their own pages and not scored.
How big is the Chicago metro area?
The Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metro area had an estimated 9,408,576 residents on July 1, 2024, per the U.S. Census Bureau. That makes it #3 among U.S. metro areas by population.
Other city hubs
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Last verified 2026-10-20. Figures were re-read from the linked sources that day.
View changelog
- Chicago hub published. 8 firms, each local office checked on the firm’s own site.
- Added 1 individual broker profiles.
Sources
- JLL Chicago location page · accessed 2026-10-20
- CBRE Chicago office page · accessed 2026-10-20
- Colliers Chicago city page · accessed 2026-10-20
- Avison Young Chicago location page · accessed 2026-10-20
- Marcus & Millichap office directory · accessed 2026-10-20
- Hiffman About Us page · accessed 2026-10-20
- Cushman & Wakefield Ltd. 10-K for FY2025 (SEC) · accessed 2026-10-20
- JLL FY2025 results release (Feb 18, 2026) · accessed 2026-10-20
- Cushman & Wakefield Chicago office page · accessed 2026-10-20
- Newmark Chicago office page · accessed 2026-10-20
- Marcus & Millichap Chicago office page · accessed 2026-10-20
- U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2024 metro area population estimates (cbsa-est2024-alldata.csv) · accessed 2026-10-20