By Greg Akers – Editor-in-Chief, Memphis Business Journal

Jan 17, 2024

MBJ's BRED: Best Real Estate Dealmakers is back for its next incarnation.

This year is the fifth BRED, but longtime readers will know the event has evolved considerably over the years.

The inaugural was held in 2019, celebrating the commercial real estate deals that drive so much economic growth in the region. The BRED in that instance stood for Best Real Estate Deals. But it sought to name and elevate the people behind the deal: brokers, developers, attorneys, bankers, tenants, landlords, and civic leaders. We wanted to show that no real estate deal is a faceless transaction. We called those individuals the "dealmakers" behind the deal.

The second-annual BRED was held in March 2020, just weeks before the pandemic officially arrived in the Mid-South. The 2021 BRED acknowledged the new normal during Covid, a time when "the very concept of the handshake deal was toast."

The fourth installment added to the scope — and name — of the event. BREDD was held in 2023, officially adding Dealmakers to the umbrella of Best Real Estate Deals. The Dealmakers also included both commercial and residential real estate professionals, further widening the breadth of recognition for those who sell and market the metro and drive economic activity.

And now, with the 2024 campaign, BRED returns with the turn of the dial that sees the event thoroughly focus on what it's indirectly been focusing on all along: the Dealmakers.

MBJ is proud to announce the honorees for the 2024 BRED: Best Real Estate Dealmakers. To see the commercial and residential real estate professionals driving the Mid-South's top deals, click the slideshow at the bottom of the page. In addition to Dealmakers, the program highlights a Rising Star in both commercial and residential sides. And last but hardly least, BRED is honoring two true titans of real estate with the inaugural BRED Lifetime Achievement award.

The BRED: Best Real Estate Dealmakers ceremony is scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 15, 5:30–8 p.m. at Railgarten.