Marcus & Millichap has tapped a technology-first qualified intermediary to serve its investor base. Deferred, a platform that automates and manages 1031 exchanges, has joined the brokerage's Preferred Partner Program, giving clients a direct pathway to exchange services when buying or selling investment properties.
The arrangement targets investors who want to sell appreciated assets and redeploy proceeds into new holdings without immediately triggering capital gains taxes. Deferred's software handles the documentation, timelines, and fund management that make these exchanges work, while Marcus & Millichap's brokers bring the deal flow and market knowledge on the front end.
What happened
- Deferred has entered Marcus & Millichap's Preferred Partner Program as a designated 1031 exchange solutions provider for the brokerage's investor clients
- Marcus & Millichap reported $50.8 billion in sales volume across 8,818 transactions in 2025
- The firm maintains more than 80 offices in the United States and Canada with 1,808 investment sales and financing professionals
- Deferred says it brings together a century or more of combined exchange experience with a custom-built software platform designed to reduce friction for investors
- Richard Matricaria, chief growth officer at Marcus & Millichap, framed the deal as giving clients access to a modern approach for preserving equity and repositioning capital
Why This Partnership Matters
Selling commercial property is rarely just about the sale price. After a gain, the IRS wants its cut, and that bite can quietly shrink the capital available for the next acquisition. A properly structured 1031 exchange lets investors roll proceeds into a replacement property and defer the tax bill, but the mechanics are unforgiving: strict identification windows, rules about what qualifies, and a need for a neutral party to hold funds during the transition.
Deferred built its platform around those pain points. Morningstar noted that the company combines more than a century of collective exchange expertise with technology designed to make the process less cumbersome. Marcus & Millichap agents who have used Deferred described it as a partner that simplifies complicated transactions and helps clients feel confident about tax-deferral strategies, which in turn supports longer-term broker-client relationships.
Connect Commercial Real Estate reported that Matricaria called 1031 exchanges one of the most effective tools for investors trying to preserve equity and shift capital into better-positioned assets. He described Deferred's approach as modern and client-focused, qualities that made it a natural fit for the Preferred Partner Program.
The timing matters. Higher interest rates have pushed financing costs up, making every deferred dollar more valuable. An investor who can avoid a capital gains hit at closing has more firepower for a down payment or a better-located asset, and that advantage compounds when you are cycling through value-add acquisitions on a regular schedule.
Who Gains and What to Watch
Investors who hold appreciated commercial properties and want to upgrade, diversify, or shift strategies stand to benefit most. Value-add players who routinely buy, improve, and sell face repeated tax hits without an exchange mechanism; a streamlined process removes one of the friction points that can slow down portfolio repositioning.
Brokers benefit too. When the exchange side runs smoothly, deals close cleaner and clients stick around. A trusted intermediary that handles documentation without hand-holding makes the brokerage look competent.
Watch for whether other large brokerages pursue similar technology-focused exchange partnerships. Deferred gaining access to Marcus & Millichap's footprint sets a benchmark—if the arrangement drives measurable retention or deal flow, competitors will take notice.
Say You Are Weighing a Sale
Say you hold a suburban office building with steady tenancy but limited upside. You have identified a multi-family property in a growth corridor that fits your criteria. A straight sale funds the acquisition but leaves you with a tax liability that reduces your purchasing power. Through this new channel, your Marcus & Millichap broker can connect you to Deferred's system, where the exchange timeline, replacement property identification, and fund holding are managed in one place. You preserve more equity for the new deal and avoid a cash crunch that might otherwise force you to reduce your offer or bring in a partner.
Bottom Line
Marcus & Millichap's deal with Deferred signals that technology-enabled tax deferral is becoming a standard part of full-service commercial brokerage, not an afterthought. For investors who trade appreciating assets or run active repositioning strategies, having a streamlined exchange path built into your broker relationship reduces friction at a critical stage of the transaction. Before you close your next sale, ask your Marcus & Millichap agent whether an exchange through this program makes sense for your next target.
Key takeaways
- Deferred's integration into the Preferred Partner Program gives Marcus & Millichap's clients access to a purpose-built exchange platform backed by experienced professionals
- The brokerage's 2025 volume of $50.8 billion and 8,818 transactions means a large ongoing pipeline of clients who could benefit from tax-deferred reinvestment
- Rising rates have raised the stakes for tax deferral, making 1031 exchanges more financially significant for active commercial real estate investors
- The partnership addresses the gap between closing a sale and executing a clean exchange, where transactions often stall or produce unexpected tax consequences
Frequently asked questions
What does a 1031 exchange allow commercial property investors to do?
It lets an investor sell a property and put the proceeds into a similar qualifying property within IRS-set timelines, deferring capital gains taxes that would otherwise be due at closing.
How does Deferred differ from a traditional qualified intermediary?
Deferred pairs what it describes as over a century of collective exchange experience with a purpose-built software platform designed to make the process more efficient and less prone to documentation errors.
Who does this partnership serve?
Marcus & Millichap clients across the United States and Canada who are buying or selling investment properties and want to execute a tax-deferred exchange as part of their strategy.
How widely available is this service through Marcus & Millichap?
Both sources indicate Deferred has joined the Preferred Partner Program as a designated provider, making it available through the brokerage's network of agents and more than 80 offices.
What is Marcus & Millichap's scale in commercial real estate?
Morningstar reported the firm closed 8,818 transactions with $50.8 billion in sales volume in 2025, operating with 1,808 investment sales and financing professionals across offices in the United States and Canada.