Eric Chen

So nice to meet you! First off, what’s your name? Tell our readers a bit about yourself—where you’re from originally and where you live now.

My name is Eric Chen, and I’m an Executive Vice President at CBRE. I was born in Taipei, Taiwan, and I’m now based in Southern California, where I lead a multifamily investment sales team out of our Ontario office.

Tell us one thing you love about where you live now.

What I love most about Southern California is its diversity. Within a short drive, you can move from the San Gabriel Valley to the Inland Empire and find communities with completely different character, food, and culture. It’s also a place where so many people have built their lives and businesses, and I’ve had the privilege of working with many of them for more than a decade. That sense of community is a big part of why I’ve stayed rooted here.

Tell us a little more about what your company does and how it started. How does it help your customers?

CBRE is the world’s largest commercial real estate services and investment firm, with more than 155,000 professionals in over 100 countries. My team operates within CBRE’s Investment Properties group and specializes in multifamily. I started it in 2003 with a focus on apartment buildings in the San Gabriel Valley and Inland Empire, and it grew into a full-service platform covering investment sales, buyer representation, 1031 exchanges, broker opinions of value, and financing.

For our clients, that means one team can guide them through every stage of an investment. We combine deep local expertise with CBRE’s global reach, including a proprietary database of more than one million investors worldwide and our own network of 45,000 contacts in Southern California. On average, our clients achieve 10% to 15% higher sale prices per door, and we typically sell properties in two to three months.

If someone wants to start a business, what advice would you give them?

My advice is to focus on your clients before you focus on your numbers. If you consistently do right by people, the results follow. Be prepared for setbacks, because they will come, and I learned more from the 2008 financial crisis than from any good year. Persistence matters, especially early on when you won’t win every opportunity. And as you grow, invest in the people around you. You can’t build something lasting by doing everything yourself.

What is one piece of feedback from a happy customer or client that you won't forget?

One that stays with me is from Susan Landau. We sold two large Inland Empire properties for her, a complex transaction with almost 20 partners across the two properties, and it took nearly a year from start to finish. At our first meeting, I drove to her home in Bel Air, and she told me afterward that she knew right away I was the right broker for the job. She said nothing was too difficult for me to handle and that I stayed on top of every detail the whole way through.

Where do you see your company in the future?

Looking ahead, my goal is to keep growing as California’s leading multifamily team while staying true to what got us here. We’ll continue to deepen our presence in the San Gabriel Valley and Inland Empire, and expand the ways we serve clients through sales, financing, 1031 exchanges, and advisory work, supported by CBRE’s global platform and technology.

Most important, we’ll keep putting clients first, because I believe that if we do right by them, the results and the relationships will continue to grow.

What is the biggest misconception about your industry?

The biggest misconception is that commercial real estate is purely transactional, that a broker lists a property, finds a buyer, and moves on. In reality, the best work happens before and after the deal. It means understanding a client’s financial goals, advising on timing, financing, and tax strategies like 1031 exchanges, and staying in touch long after closing. Many of our clients have been with us for more than a decade, and that comes from treating this as a relationship business, not just a numbers business.

What has been one of your biggest struggles building your business, and how did you deal with it?

One of the biggest struggles was the 2008 financial crisis. Financing dried up, deals fell apart, and the market nearly came to a standstill. It forced me to sharpen my fundamentals and find creative ways to keep transactions moving when very little was certain.

I also struggled early on when I was breaking into established submarkets. We didn’t win every listing, and there were moments of self-doubt. What kept me grounded was the belief that doing right by your clients always pays off in the long run. Every obstacle made our team stronger.

Who was your favorite music artist and athlete growing up?

Growing up, my favorite athlete was Michael Jordan. I admired his relentless work ethic and his competitiveness, but what stood out most was that he never settled. Even after winning championships, he kept pushing himself to get better, and he performed best when the pressure was highest. He also proved that talent alone isn’t enough. Preparation, discipline, and resilience are what separate the great from the good, including bouncing back from setbacks. That mindset has stayed with me in my career, and I try to bring the same commitment to every client and every transaction.

Where can our readers learn more about you and your company?

Readers can learn more about me and our team on my CBRE profile at cbre.com/people/eric-c-chen, where you’ll find our services, notable transactions, and client testimonials. You can also follow me on Instagram at @eric_c_chen or connect with me on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/eric-chen-b87b2b13. If you’re an investor, you can join our mailing list through my CBRE page to receive new listings, off-market opportunities, and market updates.