Awarded CPE’s Top 20 Brokerage Firms Date June 10, 2026
The Boulder Group, a net leased investment brokerage firm headquartered in Wilmette, Illinois, has been named to Commercial Property Executive’s 2026 ranking of the Top 20 Commercial Real Estate Brokerage Firms in the United States. The ranking, published annually by Commercial Property Executive in its June issue, identifies the leading brokerage organizations in the country based on investment sales and leasing volume reported for the prior calendar year. The Boulder Group is the only net lease-only firm on the list, earning its place exclusively through the volume and expertise it has built as a specialist in single tenant net lease investment sales over nearly three decades.
Commercial Property Executive is one of the most widely read and respected commercial real estate publications in the United States, covering investment sales, development, finance, and property management across all major asset classes and markets. The annual Top CRE Brokerage Firms ranking is compiled by the editors of Commercial Property Executive based on self-reported transaction data, and considers investment sales volume and overall firm performance over the prior year. Every other firm in the 2026 top 20 is a large, multi-discipline brokerage platform operating across office, industrial, multifamily, retail, and other commercial property sectors. The Boulder Group’s inclusion is earned entirely on the strength of its single tenant net lease investment sales practice, making it the most specialized firm in the ranking by a significant margin.
Founded in 1997 by Randy Blankstein, The Boulder Group has spent nearly three decades building what has become the most recognized boutique net lease investment sales platform in the United States. The firm’s expertise spans every major single tenant net lease sector, including free-standing retail, quick-service restaurants, convenience stores and fuel centers, pharmacies, auto service and parts facilities, medical outpatient buildings, dollar stores, grocery-anchored outparcels, and industrial net lease assets. That depth of knowledge across tenant types, lease structures, and markets has attracted a loyal and growing client base of high-net-worth individuals, family offices, developers, private equity funds, real estate investment trusts, Delaware Statutory Trusts, and institutional investors, many of whom return to The Boulder Group for multiple transactions over the course of years. Operating from its Wilmette, Illinois headquarters and a secondary office in Denver, Colorado, the firm has arranged the acquisition and disposition of over $11 billion in single tenant net lease transactions and has been consistently ranked among the top firms in the nation for single tenant retail transaction volume by both CoStar and MSCI Real Capital Analytics. The firm also publishes quarterly net lease market research tracking cap rates and pricing benchmarks across more than 80 single tenant net lease tenants, a resource that is widely cited across the industry and reflects the firm’s commitment to providing clients with the most current and reliable data available.
“This ranking is a reflection of what The Boulder Group has built over nearly 30 years, not a commentary on any particular market cycle. We have earned our position through exclusive focus, consistent execution, and relationships with clients who trust us to deliver results transaction after transaction. Being the only net lease-only firm named to this list alongside the largest brokerage platforms in the world is something our entire team takes tremendous pride in, and it is a direct result of the decision we made at the very beginning to specialize completely rather than compete across every asset class,” said Randy Blankstein, President of The Boulder Group.
Jimmy Goodman, Partner of The Boulder Group, added, “What separates us from every other firm on this list is not size, it is depth. We know the net lease sector better than anyone, we know our clients’ objectives, and we know how to position a property to generate the most competitive outcome. Many of our client relationships span a decade or more and dozens of transactions, and that continuity is built on delivering results consistently. The transaction volume that earned this ranking was not accumulated by covering a broad range of property types. It was generated deal by deal, client by client, through a level of specialization that a generalist firm simply cannot replicate.”
John Feeney, Senior Vice President of The Boulder Group, noted, “Our quarterly research program is a direct expression of the firm’s expertise. Tracking cap rates, pricing trends, and investor demand across more than 80 net lease tenants requires years of transaction experience and market knowledge, and the fact that it has become one of the most referenced benchmarks in the industry says something about the credibility The Boulder Group has built. Clients who work with us, whether they are deploying 1031 exchange proceeds, acquiring new construction NNN assets for bonus depreciation purposes, or building a net lease portfolio, come to us because we have demonstrated expertise they cannot find at a firm that treats net lease as one of many product lines.”
About The Boulder Group
The Boulder Group is a boutique investment real estate service firm specializing in single tenant net lease properties. The firm provides a full range of brokerage, advisory, and financing services nationwide to a substantial and diversified client base, which includes high-net-worth individuals, developers, REITs, partnerships and institutional investment funds. Founded in 1997, the firm has arranged the acquisition and disposition of over $11 billion of single tenant net lease real estate transactions. From 2013–2025, the firm was ranked in the top 10 companies in the nation for single tenant retail transactions by both CoStar and MSCI Real Capital Analytics. The Boulder Group is headquartered in suburban Chicago and has an office in Denver.
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