Midwest Real Estate News inducts a new class in its Midwest Commercial Real Estate Hall of Fame each year. This year, we are running the profiles of these hall inductees online. We look today at the busy career of David Garfinkel, senior vice president and managing director of the St. Louis office of NorthMarq.
During a commercial real estate career that’s lasted for more than 32 years, David Garfinkel, senior vice president and managing director with the St. Louis office of NorthMarq, has arranged more than $2.75 billion in loan production.
That’s a big number. It explains why Garfinkel has been recognized as a top producer for several life insurance companies during his career. In 2011 and 2014, Garfinkel ranked seventh in total production for NorthMarq. In 2016, he ranked eighth.
Like many top CRE pros, Garfinkel took to the real estate life quickly. Before joining NorthMarq, he was responsible for the leasing of a 1.3-million-square-foot office portfolio in Portland, Oregon. His first leasing assignment was for a 500,000-square-foot office complex in Denver.
After logging time as a leasing agent, Garfinkel moved back to St. Louis in 1998 and jumped into commercial banking with NorthMarq. This has proven to be the right fit, as Garfinkel has now worked with NorthMarq for more than 20 years.
“I love what I do, as every day is different and every deal is different,” Garfinkel said. “I might work on loans for five different property types every day. However, what I love most about this business is the people. I’ve developed long-term relationships and friendships with many of my clients, my lenders and my colleagues within NorthMarq and the real estate industry.”
How does Garfinkel set himself apart from his competitors? There’s no hidden strategy. It’s about being honest and fair with clients. If you work hard for your clients, Garfinkel said, the business will follow.
“You are only as good as your last deal, and I am all about reputation,” he said. “I try to be very open and transparent. I try to have as good a bedside manner as possible. I also take every deal personally.”
When not at work, Garfinkel enjoys spending time with his family. He and his wife have twin 10-year-old sons and a daughter who is 6. The family watches St. Louis Cardinals and Blues games together, travels, plays tennis together and hits the ski slopes.
“We try to enjoy every minute of the short time we have with our kids until they head off to college and beyond,” Garfinkel said.
