Short answer
The Philadelphia metro area has 5,868 real estate establishments with paid employees, employing 30,146 people (Census, 2023): 2,140 lessors, 1,940 brokerage offices, 1,140 property managers and smaller groups of appraisers and other services, spread across Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland. The public real estate companies headquartered here are CubeSmart, Independence Realty Trust, Brandywine Realty Trust, Universal Health Realty Income Trust and AMREP.
- Philadelphia County has 1,313 real estate establishments; the Pennsylvania suburbs together have more than twice as many.
- Commercial property managers here pay an average of $115,622, the highest of any real estate type in the metro.
- CubeSmart, based in Malvern, is the largest public real estate company in the region, with $1.12 billion of 2025 revenue.
- Philadelphia's realty transfer tax is 4.578% of the price: 3.578% to the City and 1% to the Commonwealth.
- Firms in the metro are licensed by Pennsylvania's State Real Estate Commission, New Jersey's Real Estate Commission or Delaware's, depending on where they work.
On this page
- The regional market in Census data
- What kinds of real estate company
- Which commission licenses a Philadelphia-area firm
- Public real estate companies headquartered in the region
- Choosing a brokerage or property manager
- Selling in the city of Philadelphia
- Prospecting Philadelphia real estate companies
- Sources
- Sources
- Questions people ask
The top results for "real estate companies in Philadelphia" are local brokerages working across Pennsylvania and New Jersey, a multifamily investment brokerage, a property manager and review lists, so searchers are mainly buyers, sellers, landlords and investors choosing a firm. This report covers what the market contains, which licence a firm needs, the public companies headquartered here, what city sellers pay at closing, and how businesses can prospect the region's real estate firms.
The regional market in Census data
County Business Patterns (CBP) 2023 counts real estate establishments (NAICS 531) in the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD Metro Area (CBSA 37980):
| Measure (2023) | Philadelphia metro |
|---|---|
| Establishments | 5,868 |
| Employees | 30,146 |
| Annual payroll | $2,355,739,000 |
| Employees per establishment | 5.1 |
| Average annual pay | $78,144 |
| Share of US real estate establishments | 1.41% of 414,824 |
| Employees | Establishments |
|---|---|
| 1 to 19 | 5,621 |
| 20 to 49 | 165 |
| 50 to 99 | 49 |
| 100 to 249 | 28 |
| 250 to 499 | 5 |
| 100 or more, all classes | 33 |
The Census Bureau doesn't publish the 500 to 999 and 1,000-or-more classes here. The 100-or-more figure is the total less the smaller classes.
| County | Establishments | Employees |
|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia, PA | 1,313 | 8,717 |
| Montgomery, PA | 1,079 | 6,494 |
| New Castle, DE | 704 | 3,076 |
| Bucks, PA | 699 | 2,294 |
| Chester, PA | 593 | 2,600 |
| Delaware, PA | 470 | 2,534 |
| Burlington, NJ | 365 | 1,742 |
| Camden, NJ | 357 | 1,889 |
The four Pennsylvania suburban counties together have 2,841 establishments, more than twice the city's 1,313.
What kinds of real estate company
| Type (NAICS 2017 code) | Establishments | Employees | Average pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lessors: landlords, equity REITs, self-storage (5311) | 2,140 | 10,614 | $69,826 |
| Agents and brokers (531210) | 1,940 | 6,220 | $85,154 |
| Residential property managers (531311) | 813 | 7,802 | $63,129 |
| Other services: escrow, listing services (531390) | 450 | 1,236 | $101,412 |
| Nonresidential property managers (531312) | 327 | 3,637 | $115,622 |
| Appraisers (531320) | 198 | 637 | $73,083 |
Average pay is our calculation: annual payroll divided by employees.
CBP counts establishments with paid employees, not companies, and leaves out self-employed agents and owners. Builders and developers are classified in construction, and mortgage REITs in finance. For the codes, see the NAICS code for real estate.
Which commission licenses a Philadelphia-area firm
| Where the firm works | Regulator | Where to check |
|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia and the Pennsylvania suburbs | State Real Estate Commission, Pennsylvania Department of State | PALS licence verification |
| South Jersey (Burlington, Camden, Gloucester, Salem) | New Jersey Real Estate Commission | NJ licensee search |
| New Castle County | Delaware Real Estate Commission | Delaware Real Estate Commission |
Firms that work on both sides of the Delaware River may hold licences in more than one state; check the one that matches the property. Pennsylvania's Real Estate Licensing and Registration Act requires licensees to give consumers a Consumer Notice at the initial interview, explaining the relationships on offer: seller agent, buyer agent, dual agent and others. The commission publishes a separate version for leases.
Public real estate companies headquartered in the region
SEC-registered listed companies with real estate codes and a business address in the metro area, checked against each latest Form 10-K:
| Company | What it does | Headquarters | Revenue |
|---|---|---|---|
| CubeSmart | Self-storage REIT | Malvern, PA | $1,123.1 million (2025) |
| Independence Realty Trust | Apartment REIT | 1835 Market Street, Philadelphia | $657.7 million (2025) |
| Brandywine Realty Trust | Office and life science REIT | 2929 Arch Street, Philadelphia | $484.5 million (2025) |
| Universal Health Realty Income Trust | Healthcare REIT | King of Prussia, PA | $99.2 million (2025) |
| AMREP | Land developer and homebuilder (New Mexico) | Havertown, PA | $52.8 million (year to 30 April 2026) |
Brandywine reported about 268 full-time employees and AMREP 52. To see where they rank nationally, see the biggest real estate companies in the US.
Choosing a brokerage or property manager
- Check the licence in the right state using the table above, for the agent and for the firm.
- Read the Consumer Notice (Pennsylvania) you're given at the first interview, and confirm which relationship you're being offered.
- For a landlord hiring a manager, ask for the management agreement, the fee on new leases and renewals, where deposits are held and how repairs are approved.
- Check local fit. Row homes in South Philly, Main Line houses and Center City condos sell differently; ask for three recent sales like yours.
Selling in the city of Philadelphia
- Budget the transfer tax. The City's Department of Revenue lists the realty transfer tax at 3.578% for the City plus 1% for the Commonwealth, 4.578% in all. On a $350,000 sale that's $16,023. Your agreement of sale says who pays it.
- Complete the seller's disclosure. Pennsylvania's commission publishes the Seller's Property Disclosure Statement form; ask your agent for it early so you can pull repair records.
- Agree the fee in writing. Under the National Association of Realtors' settlement, Realtor MLSs stopped carrying buyer-agent compensation offers on 17 August 2024; the fee you pay your own agent is "not set by law and is fully negotiable."
Prospecting Philadelphia real estate companies
| Segment | Who decides |
|---|---|
| REIT headquarters (Malvern, Center City, King of Prussia) | Asset management, operations, procurement |
| Property managers, residential and commercial | Owners, regional and maintenance managers |
| Brokerages | Broker of record and owners; see selling to real estate agents |
Illustrative example. The company, rates and results are invented.
Schuylkill Facility Services (schuylkillfs.example) sells cleaning and day porter contracts to property managers. In the metro, 142 residential and 82 commercial managers have 10 to 499 employees in the published size classes, 224 in all. Two contacts each makes 448; a 4% reply rate gives about 18 conversations, and one in four turning into a site walk-through gives 4. Bebop finds managers like these and drafts the outreach for each.
Subject: Re: day porter cover at [property] Hi [first name], one more note and then I'll leave it. If [property]'s cleaning contract comes up for bid in the next six months, we'd like to be on the list; we cover 40 sites in [county] with a supervisor on every shift. Who should I send our insurance certificate to?
Sources
| Source | What it gives you |
|---|---|
| Pennsylvania State Real Estate Commission | Forms, Consumer Notice and licensing |
| Philadelphia realty transfer tax | Current rates and how to pay |
| Bright MLS | The region's multiple listing service |
For every industry in the region, see companies in Philadelphia.
Next step: turn the segment you want into a list with how to build a prospect list.
Sources
- County Business Patterns (CBP), 2023, US Census Bureau, accessed 30 October 2026
- State Real Estate Commission, Pennsylvania Department of State, accessed 31 October 2026
- Pennsylvania Licensing System (PALS), Pennsylvania Department of State, accessed 31 October 2026
- New Jersey Real Estate Commission, New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance, accessed 31 October 2026
- Consumer Notice, Pennsylvania State Real Estate Commission, accessed 31 October 2026
- Delaware Real Estate Commission, Delaware Division of Professional Regulation, accessed 31 October 2026
- Realty transfer tax, City of Philadelphia, accessed 31 October 2026
- NAR Settlement FAQs, National Association of Realtors, accessed 30 October 2026
- CubeSmart, Form 10-K for 2025, SEC EDGAR, 27 February 2026
- Independence Realty Trust, Form 10-K for 2025, SEC EDGAR, 17 February 2026
- Brandywine Realty Trust, Form 10-K for 2025, SEC EDGAR, 23 February 2026
- Universal Health Realty Income Trust, Form 10-K for 2025, SEC EDGAR, 25 February 2026
- AMREP Corporation, Form 10-K for the year ended 30 April 2026, SEC EDGAR, 24 July 2026
Written by the Bebop team at Blackpearl Group. Published .
Questions people ask
What are the biggest real estate companies in Philadelphia?
By 2025 revenue in their 10-K filings, the largest public real estate companies headquartered in the Philadelphia area are CubeSmart in Malvern ($1.12 billion), Independence Realty Trust ($657.7 million) and Brandywine Realty Trust ($484.5 million), both in Philadelphia. Private brokerages and landlords don't publish comparable figures, so they aren't ranked here.
How many real estate companies are in Philadelphia?
Census County Business Patterns counted 5,868 real estate establishments with paid employees in the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington metro area in 2023, employing 30,146 people, and 1,313 in Philadelphia County itself. The figures count offices rather than companies and leave out agents and landlords with no employees.
What is the transfer tax in Philadelphia?
The City of Philadelphia's Department of Revenue lists the realty transfer tax at 3.578% for the City plus 1% for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, a total of 4.578% of the price. On a $350,000 home that's $16,023. Who pays is set in the agreement of sale, so settle it before you sign.
How do I check a real estate license in Pennsylvania?
Use the Pennsylvania Licensing System (PALS) to verify a licence issued by the State Real Estate Commission. For a firm that works in South Jersey, check New Jersey's Real Estate Commission licensee search too, and for Wilmington and New Castle County, the Delaware Real Estate Commission. Check the agent and the brokerage.