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Welcome to the Awards, Honors, Recognition, and Milestones section. Here, you’ll find a chronological summary of the accolades and achievements that have marked Bob Knakal’s four-decade-long career.
From prestigious awards to significant milestones, this section highlights the key moments that have defined Bob’s journey in the real estate industry. We hope you enjoy exploring these career highlights and gaining insight into the dedication and excellence that have driven Bob’s success.
1981: Walks into Coldwell Banker in Hackensack, NJ looking for a summer job thinking it is a bank.
1981: Gets a summer job at Coldwell Banker working in the “Data Bank” summer research project.
1982: Returns to Coldwell Banker to run the Data Bank summer research interns.
1983: Gets licensed in NJ and serves as an associate to a CB industrial broker. Shows space in Morris County, NJ.
1984: Graduates from The Wharton School at Penn with a BS in Economics.
1984: Starts full time with CB Commercial (now CBRE) in New York City. July 16, 1984.
1984: Forms partnership with Paul Massey day two on the job (the partnership lasts 30 years – 4 at CB and 26 at Massey Knakal).
1984: Becomes a member of the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY).
1985: Sells first property in March: 1421 Third Avenue, $3,125,000.
1985: Selected to become a member of the Sales Brokers Committee of REBNY
1986: Top Salesman Award (with Massey) for CB in NYC out of 47 producers.
1987: Top Salesman Award (with Massey) for CB in NYC out of 56 producers.
1988: Top Salesman Award (with Massey) for CB in NYC out of 69 producers.
1988: November 15th – Massey Knakal Realty Services is born.
1990: Named Chairman of Massey Knakal – had been Co-Founding Partner. (1990 – 2014)
1990: Sells 100th building of his career – a 50% interest in a small mixed-use building at 1087 Second Avenue for $500,000.
1994: Elected Chairman of REBNY’s Sales Broker Committee. (1994-1996)
1995: Appointed to the Board of Directors of the Community Housing Improvement Program. (1995-2008)
1995: Elected President of The National Realty Club – the youngest president in the history of the 58-year-old club.
1995: Elected President of the Prescott Foundation for Children and Youth – serving the educational needs of disadvantaged children. (1995-present)
1996: Named to the Executive Committee of the Community Housing Improvement Program. (1996-2008)
1997: Elected President of Ice Hockey in Harlem – an afterschool program for disadvantaged youth in Harlem. (1997-2012)
1998: At the age of 36, named to Crain’s New York Business – “40 under 40 – NY’s Rising Stars list for outstanding achievement in the NYC business community.
1999: Sells the 500th building of his career: a development site at 145-147 East 47th Street
2000: Named “Real Estate Man of the Year” by the Rambam Hospital in Israel for his charitable work in NYC.
2000: Named to REBNY’s Board of Governors – (2000-present).
2001: Wins Robert T. Lawrence Award for “The Most Ingenious Deal of the Year Award” by REBNY for the assemblage at 55th & Second.
2001: Massey Knakal recognized by CoStar as selling more buildings in New York City than any other firm for the first time.
2002: Massey Knakal recognized by CoStar as selling more buildings in New York City than any other firm for the 2nd consecutive year.
2003: Handles the two largest multifamily sales in NYC. The “Manhattan Portfolio” for $102 million and the “Simkowitz Portfolio” for $109 million.
2003: Knakal and Massey are named “New York’s Top Entrepreneurs” by Crain’s New York Business magazine’s Small Business Awards.
2003: Named “Real Estate Man of the Year” by the Catalog for Giving, a charitable organization promoting the education of disadvantaged children.
2003: The Real Deal Magazine lists Massey Knakal Realty Services as one of “New York’s Best Boutique Real Estate Firms”.
2003: Wins Robert T. Lawrence Award for “The Most Ingenious Deal of the Year Award” by REBNY for the sale of 41 West 47th Street.
2003: Massey Knakal recognized by CoStar as selling more buildings in New York City than any other firm for the 3rd consecutive year.
2004: Named “Commercial Real Estate Man of the Year” by the Brooklyn Academy of Music.
2004: Sells the largest multifamily sale of the year in NYC – Macklowe Portfolio for $179 million.
2004: Named “One of the Top 10 Investment Sales Brokers in New York” by CoStar.
2004: Massey Knakal recognized by CoStar as selling more buildings in New York City than any other firm for the 4th consecutive year.
2004: Named “Real Estate Man of the Year” by the Catalog for Giving, a charitable organization promoting the education of disadvantaged children at their Annual Award Benefit on September 27, 2004.
2005: Handles the sale of the largest privately owned apartment complex in Brooklyn – Vanderveer Estates, 2,500 apartments in 59 buildings, $138 million.
2005: Sells the 1,000th building of his career: the sale of a condominium parking garage for $5.4 million.
2005: For the first time, he sells over 100 buildings in a single year (146).
2005: Named “Man of the Year” by Shema Kolainu, a school and center for children with autism and their families.
2005: Named “Commercial Broker All-Star” by Real Estate New York Magazine.
2005: Named to REBNY’s prestigious Executive Committee – (2005-present).
2005: Becomes a Research Sponsor of the Zell Lurie Real Estate Center at The Wharton School. (2005-present).
2005: Named “One of the Top 10 Investment Sales Brokers in New York” by CoStar for the 2nd consecutive year.
2005: Massey Knakal recognized by CoStar as selling more buildings in New York City than any other firm for the 5th consecutive year.
2006: Named recipient of the “Founder’s Medal” by The Brooklyn Hospital for his work in New York City philanthropy.
2006: Named a “Commercial Broker All-Star” by Real Estate New York magazine – second year in a row.
2006: Appointed Chairman of REBNY’s Ethics Committee. (2006-2008).
2006: Named “One of the Top 10 Investment Sales Brokers in New York” by CoStar for the 3rd consecutive year.
2006: Named a “Top Dealmaker” by Real Estate Weekly in their 50th Anniversary edition.
2006: For the first time, his sale volume exceeds $1 billion annually ($1.1 billion).
2006: Massey Knakal recognized by CoStar as selling more buildings in New York City than any other firm for the 6th consecutive year.
2006: Named “Investment Sales Broker of the Year” by the Man Foundation at their First Annual Mann of the Year Awards on April 24, 2006 honoring the stars of the Real Estate and Financial Industries and benefiting The Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center at Mount Sinai Hospital.
2007: Handles the sale of the year’s largest land assemblage in NY – Sixth Avenue Blockfront for $117 million.
2007: Nominated for REBNY’s Most Ingenious Deal of the Year for the Sixth Avenue Blockfront Assemblage.
2007: Appointed to the University of Pennsylvania’s Baseball Board of Directors – (2007-2017).
2007: Massey Knakal recognized by CoStar as selling more buildings in New York City than any other firm for the 7th consecutive year.
2007: Honored as “Man of the Year” by the Brooklyn Philharmonic at their Spring Gala on May 8, 2007 for his work serving charitable organizations within communities in Brooklyn.
2008: Starts writing “StreetWise” blog for GlobeSt. com (2008-2011)
2008: Massey Knakal recognized by CoStar as selling more buildings in New York City than any other firm for the 8th consecutive year.
2009: Named one of the “Top 10 Investment Sales Brokers in the United States” by Real Estate Forum magazine.
2009: Named to the “Power 100” – the 100 most powerful people in New York Real Estate by The Commercial Observer magazine.
2009: Nominated for REBNY’s Most Ingenious Deal of the Year for the sale of 26 West 47th Street.
2009: Massey Knakal recognized by CoStar as selling more buildings in New York City than any other firm for the 9th consecutive year.
2010: Appointed to the Board of Directors of the YMCA of New York. (2010-present)
2010: Selected by Jared Kushner to write a weekly column for The Commercial Observer magazine (a new publication) called, “Concrete Thoughts”.
2010: Awarded REBNY’s “Louis Smadbeck – Lifetime Achievement Award” for achievement in the field of brokerage in New York City.
2010: Named to the Commercial Observer’s Power 100 – the 100 most powerful people in New York Real Estate by The Commercial Observer magazine, for the 2nd consecutive year.
2010: Massey Knakal recognized by CoStar as selling more buildings in New York City than any other firm for the 10th consecutive year.
2011: Named to the Commercial Observer’s Power 100 – the 100 most powerful people in New York Real Estate by The Commercial Observer magazine, for the 3rd consecutive year.
2011: Massey Knakal recognized by CoStar as selling more buildings in New York City than any other firm for the 11th consecutive year.
2012: Recognized in Rod Santomassimo’s bestselling book, Brokers Who Dominate, as one of five sales brokers who are included in “The Most Successful Commercial Real Estate Brokers in North America”.
2012: Named to the Commercial Observer’s Power 100 – the 100 most powerful people in New York Real Estate by The Commercial Observer magazine, for the 4th consecutive year.
2012: Achieves total square footage of nearly 6 million square feet for the first time in his career.
2012: Massey Knakal recognized by CoStar as selling more buildings in New York City than any other firm for the 12th consecutive year.
2013: Named to the Commercial Observer’s Power 100 – the 100 most powerful people in New York Real Estate by The Commercial Observer magazine, for the 5th consecutive year.
2013: Massey Knakal recognized by CoStar as selling more buildings in New York City than any other firm for the 13th consecutive year.
2013: Honored as “Man of the Year” and Recipient of the 2013 Albert Einstein Humanitarian Award from the Men’s Division of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University. The award was presented to Bob for “being a role model in both business and philanthropy, and thank him for his commitment to helping the Men’s Division advance Einsein’s mission to advance human health by improving quality of life and extending life expectancy.
2014: Achieves the best annual totals of his career: 148 buildings sold, over 7 million square feet sold, $2.4 billion of sales volume.
2014: Massey Knakal is sold to Cushman & Wakefield for $100 million.
2014: Achieved “Top Capital Markets Producer Globally” at Cushman & Wakefield. (1st time)
2014: Nominated for REBNY’s Most Ingenious Deal of the Year for the eight year assemblage of the site for the Virgin Hotel in NoMad.
2014: Named to the Commercial Observer’s Power 100 – the 100 most powerful people in New York Real Estate by The Commercial Observer magazine, for the 6th consecutive year.
2014: Massey Knakal recognized by CoStar as the #1 sales broker for number of buildings sold for the 14th consecutive year. (3.4 times #2 firm over that 14-year period).
2015: Named to the Commercial Observer’s Power 100 – the 100 most powerful people in New York Real Estate by The Commercial Observer magazine, for the 7th consecutive year.
2015: Named Chairman – NY Investment Sales at Cushman & Wakefield.
2015: Achieved “Top Capital Markets Producer Globally” at Cushman & Wakefield. (2nd time)
2016: Named to the Commercial Observer’s Power 100 – the 100 most powerful people in New York Real Estate by The Commercial Observer magazine, for the 8th consecutive year.
2016: Achieved “Top Capital Markets Producer Globally” at Cushman & Wakefield. (3rd time)
2017: Named to the Commercial Observer’s Power 100 – the 100 most powerful people in New York Real Estate by The Commercial Observer magazine, for the 9th consecutive year.
2017: Sells the 2,000th building of his career: The 36 building “Long Island Industrial Portfolio” for $135 million.
2017: Achieved “Top Capital Markets Originator Globally” at Cushman & Wakefield. (4th time)
2017: Named “Real Estate Man of the Year” by the Ronald McDonald House of New York for his charitable work in New York City.
2018: Named to the Commercial Observer’s Power 100 – the 100 most powerful people in New York Real Estate by The Commercial Observer magazine, for the 10th consecutive year.
2018: Orchestrates a move from Cushman & Wakefield to JLL with 53 of his colleagues – the largest coordinated defection from one commercial brokerage company to another in U.S. History.
2018: Named Chairman – NY Investment Sales at JLL.
2019: Named to the Commercial Observer’s Power 100 – the 100 most powerful people in New York Real Estate by The Commercial Observer magazine, for the 11th consecutive year.
2020: Named to the Commercial Observer’s Power 100 – the 100 most powerful people in New York Real Estate by The Commercial Observer magazine, for the 12th consecutive year.
2020: Named “Man of the Year” (with Paul Massey) for achievement in philanthropic work by The Hematology Division of New York University Medical Center at their event on May 18, 2020.
2021: Named “Investment Sales Broker of the Year” by RED Connect.
2021: Named to the Commercial Observer’s Power 100 – the 100 most powerful people in New York Real Estate by The Commercial Observer magazine, for the 13th consecutive year.
2021: Nominated for REBNY’s Most Ingenious Deal of the Year for the sale of the development site at 50th & Fifth in Long Island City.
2022: Named “Real Estate Man of the Year” by the National Realty Club Foundation
2022: Surpasses $20 Billion in aggregate sales volume for career.
2022: Named Head of New York Private Capital Group at JLL.
2022: Appointed Co-Chairman of REBNY’s newly formed Development Committee.
2022: Named to the Commercial Observer’s Power 100 – the 100 most powerful people in New York Real Estate by The Commercial Observer magazine, for the 14th consecutive year.
2022: His column Concrete Thoughts still runs in Commercial Observer – passed 300 columns written in February.
2022: Recognized with the Ralph Spencer Memorial Award as Massimo Group’s “Partner of the Year”.
2023: Named to the Commercial Observer’s Power 100 – the 100 most powerful people in New York Real Estate by The Commercial Observer magazine, for the 15th consecutive year.
2023: Named “Man of the Year – Champion for Kids” by New York Edge, an after-school program for disadvantaged children.
2023: Joins Social Media Platforms – achieves over 29 million aggregate impressions in first year.
2023: Recognized as “Development Site Sales Broker of the Year” by RED Connect Awards in NYC.
2023: Presented with New York University’s “Maverick Award for Excellence in Brokerage” at “Shack Student Summit”
2023: Featured in Rod Santomassimo’s Best Selling Book: “Dominators of Commercial Real Estate”.
2023: Named “Top 10 Commercial Real Estate Social Media Influencer” on LinkedIn.
2023: Named “Top 50 Commercial Real Estate Social Media Influencer” on Twitter.
2023: The Massey Knakal Leadership Tree is revealed: There are presently 29 companies, or divisions of companies, involved in the NYC Investment Sales Business, which are owned by, or run by, people who learned the business at Massey Knakal.
2023: Named Co-Chairman of the Real Estate Board of New York’s newly formed Development Committee.
2024: Recognized as “Multifamily Broker of the Year” Award by American Apartment Owners Association.
2024: Cover Story in “The 10 Most Inspirational Leaders, Leading the Way to Success in 2024”, CIO Business World Magazine.
2024: Recognized with “Lifetime Achievement Award in Commercial Brokerage” by the RED Connect Awards in NYC.
2024: Appointed to the Board of Directors of the Chen Institute for Global Real Estate Finance at the NYU Stern School of Business.
2024: Produces and films the first episode of The Bob Knakal Show, a live-studio audience podcast featuring guest Stephen Siegel, Chairman of Global Brokerage at CBRE.
2024: Becomes founder of a new brokerage company in NYC, BKREA, and serves as Chairman & CEO.
2024: Cover photo and profile in the inaugural issue of CRE Broker Magazine (April 2024)
2024: Named the #1 Commercial Real Estate Influencer on LinkedIn.
2024: Had a rare 1¼ page profile done in the NY Times featuring The Knakal Map Room.
