1
Most Complete Disclosure
Cushman and Wakefield
The only firm across all three Florida markets we have measured that publishes address, phone, headcount, founding year, and dated research together
Quick Picks
2
Most Submarket Specific
Lamm Properties
Names five Tampa Bay industrial submarkets individually and specializes down to small-bay and outside storage
3
Best Owner Side Breadth
Ciminelli Real Estate Services
Publishes a street address and square footage under management, with distressed asset services named separately
Market Overview
Tampa Bay Commercial Brokerage Market
Tampa produced the single most complete disclosure record of any firm measured across Florida so far, and it also exposed something the individual city comparisons cannot show on their own. Cushman and Wakefield publishes a founding year here, 1978, along with a claim to being the region's first commercial real estate services firm. The same company publishes no founding year at all on its Miami page or its Fort Lauderdale page. A national brand is not one disclosure standard applied in every market. It is a set of local pages, maintained locally, that vary more than the brand suggests. Beneath that, Tampa splits the way the other Florida markets do. One firm publishes a street address and no track record, one publishes a track record and no headcount, and the most submarket specific firm in the set publishes no address at all. One firm carries the problem none of the others have: it publishes research, and the most recent research it points to concerns 2022.
- Commercial brokers category overview How this category is defined and what gets measured in every city.
- Tampa market snapshot Market context, employers, and buyer corridors these firms compete in.
- Miami commercial brokers The same national firms in a different market, disclosing different things.
- Fort Lauderdale commercial brokers The Broward County comparison and the first market mapped in this series.
Provider Profiles
1
Cushman and Wakefield
The most complete disclosure record of any firm measured across Fort Lauderdale, Miami, and Tampa. It publishes a street address, a direct phone, a local headcount of 250 professionals, a founding year of 1978, a first in the region claim that is checkable, and Tampa Bay MarketBeat research with a named author and a publication date of 24 July 2026. That is every category this research measures, in one place. The comparison worth drawing is internal: the same company publishes no founding year on either its Miami or its Fort Lauderdale office page. Whatever is happening here is a local page maintained to a higher standard, not a corporate policy, which is itself useful to know when evaluating any national brand by its local presence.
Strengths
- Publishes address, phone, headcount, founding year, and dated research together
- Largest stated local bench in any Florida market measured so far at 250 professionals
- Founding claim is specific enough to verify independently
Watchouts
- No local transaction record published
- No pricing or engagement terms published
- Florida brokerage license number not published on the page reviewed
2
Ciminelli Real Estate Services
Publishes a street address and real square footage figures: more than 6 million square feet leased and professionally managed across Florida, and more than 7 million square feet of commercial assets under management. It also names distressed asset services separately, which like the receivership practice found in Fort Lauderdale signals experience most brokerages do not advertise. Names Tampa, St. Petersburg, and Clearwater as distinct markets rather than treating Tampa Bay as one block. The gaps are firm basics and research: no founding year, no headcount, and no market reports. One individual broker's 579 million dollar transaction record appears on the page, which is a person's number rather than the firm's and should not be read as a company total.
Strengths
- Street address plus square footage under management published
- Distressed asset services named separately
- Treats Tampa, St. Petersburg, and Clearwater as distinct markets
Watchouts
- No founding year and no headcount
- No market research published
- The visible transaction figure belongs to an individual, not the firm
3
Lamm Properties
The most tightly specialized firm in any Florida market measured so far, and the most submarket specific in Tampa. It names East Tampa, the Airport and Westshore corridor, Drew Park, Pinellas County, and the broader I-4 industrial region through Lakeland, which is genuine infill geography rather than county level coverage. It is also the only firm in this set naming industrial outside storage as a category, a small and increasingly contested asset type that most brokerages fold into land. It maintains a market research section. What it does not publish is any firm record at all: no address, no founding year, no volume, no headcount. Deep specialization is asserted through vocabulary rather than demonstrated through a track record.
Strengths
- Five Tampa Bay industrial submarkets named individually
- Names industrial outside storage, a category most firms omit
- Maintains a dedicated market research section
Watchouts
- No street address published
- No founding year, volume, or headcount
- Specialization is claimed in vocabulary rather than in a published record
4
Fortress Commercial Real Estate
Publishes a street address and a direct phone, and names site selection and entitlement work specifically, which is a genuinely different capability from pure leasing. It is also the only firm in this comparison with a dated research problem rather than a missing research problem: the most recent market content surfaced concerns commercial real estate trends in 2022. Research that is four years stale is arguably a worse signal than publishing none, because it implies a currency the content does not have and a buyer has to notice the date to catch it. No submarkets are named, no founding year, and no track record figures of any kind.
Strengths
- Street address and direct phone published
- Site selection and entitlement named as distinct capabilities
- Clear service list across owner and occupier sides
Watchouts
- Most recent market content concerns 2022
- No Tampa Bay submarkets named
- No founding year, volume, or headcount published
Buyer Checklist
- Check the date on any market research before you value it One firm in this set publishes research whose most recent subject is 2022. Stale research reads as current until you look at the date.
- Do not assume a national brand discloses the same way in every city One firm here publishes a founding year in Tampa and does not on its Miami or Fort Lauderdale pages. Judge the local office, not the logo.
- Separate an individual broker's record from the firm's One firm displays a 579 million dollar figure belonging to one professional. That is a real number attached to a person who may or may not work your assignment.
- Ask which Tampa Bay submarket the team actually works East Tampa, Westshore, Drew Park, Pinellas, and the I-4 corridor to Lakeland trade differently. Only one firm here names them individually.
- Ask for a street address if the page does not carry one The most specialized firm in this comparison publishes no address, which makes its infill focus harder to place.
- Ask for the Florida brokerage license number None of the four publish it on the pages reviewed. It verifies free through the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation.
- Ask whether a square footage figure is leased, managed, or both One firm here publishes two different square footage claims that measure different things. Ask which number describes the business you are hiring.
FAQ
Who is the best commercial real estate broker in Tampa?
This research does not name one. On the public record, Cushman and Wakefield publishes the most complete disclosure of any firm measured across Florida so far, Lamm Properties publishes the most specific industrial submarket coverage, and Ciminelli publishes a street address alongside real square footage under management. Those are disclosure findings, not competence rankings.
Why does the same national firm publish different things in Tampa and Miami?
Because local office pages are maintained locally. Cushman and Wakefield publishes a 1978 founding year and a first in the region claim on its Tampa page and publishes no founding year on either its Miami or Fort Lauderdale page. That is the most useful finding in this comparison: a national brand is not a single disclosure standard, and evaluating one by its corporate reputation rather than its local page will mislead you in at least one direction.
Is old market research worse than no market research?
For a buyer trying to judge a firm from outside, often yes. A firm publishing nothing is making no claim about currency. A firm whose most recent market content concerns 2022 is implying an active research practice that the dates do not support. Neither is disqualifying, but the second one requires the reader to catch the date, and most will not.
What kinds of industrial space does Tampa Bay actually trade?
The firms here name small-bay warehouse, flex office, industrial outside storage, distribution and last-mile logistics, light manufacturing, and build-to-suit. Industrial outside storage is the notable one, appearing at only one firm in this set and none in Miami or Fort Lauderdale, which suggests it is either a Tampa specific opportunity or simply a category other brokerages have not separated out yet.
How often is this comparison updated?
Every figure here reflects what the firm published as of 20 September 2026. Research claims and quarterly reports move, so the date on this page matters more than it would for a static directory listing.
Methodology: This comparison reviews what each firm publishes on its own public pages, not the quality of its brokerage work. Office addresses, headcounts, founding dates, transaction figures, property types, and research publication were all read directly from each firm's website on 20 September 2026 and are reported as firm claims unless a public record confirms them. No transaction volume, square footage, or portfolio figure here has been independently verified. Cross-market comparisons of the same national firm reflect what each local office page published on that date and may change independently of each other. Florida brokerage license standing was checked for publication on the reviewed pages only and was not found on any of the four; that is a disclosure finding and is not a statement about any firm's actual license status, which remains verifiable through the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation. Best Local X is not a brokerage, does not represent any party in a transaction, and does not accept placement fees for inclusion in this comparison.