NAI Columbia

What NAI Columbia does

NAI Columbia is a broker-owned, full-service commercial real estate firm headquartered at 1221 Main Street, Suite 1607, in Columbia, South Carolina. Founded in 2019 as a partnership between NAI Earle Furman and eight former senior brokers of NAI Avant, the firm serves the South Carolina Midlands with brokerage, property management, project management, development, and corporate advisory services spanning office, retail, industrial, healthcare, and land asset classes. Its specialized Carolina Shopping Center Strategists team manages 34 retail centers totaling over 2.3 million square feet—the largest retail property market share in South Carolina.

The firm operates without proprietary technology products; its competitive capabilities rest on broker expertise, market research, and deep local relationships rather than software platforms. NAI Columbia generates revenue through two primary streams: commission-based brokerage fees on commercial sales, leases, tenant representation, and land transactions, plus ongoing property management fees across affiliated portfolios (over 12.5 million square feet across the merged NAI Earle Furman/NAI Columbia Carolina alliance). Pricing is quote-based and transaction-specific, with individual disclosed deal values ranging from $2.68 million to $30.4 million in recent quarters.

The firm's go-to-market is sales-led, relying on broker relationships, direct client engagement, and the global reach of the NAI Global network (375+ offices, 6,000+ professionals, 1.15 billion square feet managed worldwide). NAI Global is itself a wholly owned subsidiary of C-III Capital Partners, LLC. In January 2023, NAI Columbia merged with NAI Earle Furman, consolidating South Carolina and North Carolina operations into a unified entity alongside NAI Piedmont Triad, which now operates seven combined offices across the Carolinas. Customer segments span corporate/institutional clients, retail investors, industrial users, healthcare providers, and developers, with no disclosed concentration in any single vertical.

Name

NAI Columbia

Legal name

NAI Columbia

Website

https://naicolumbia.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

NAI Columbia is a broker-owned commercial real estate firm in Columbia, SC, providing brokerage, property management, development, and advisory services across office, retail, industrial, and land assets in the South Carolina Midlands, affiliated with the NAI Global network.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Commercial Real Estate Services

NAICS

Offices of Real Estate Agents and Brokers (531210), Real Estate Property Managers (53131)

SIC

Real Estate Agents & Managers (For Others) (6531), Real Estate (6500)

akta.pro primary industry

Commercial Real Estate Brokerage (Leasing & Sales) (FSAEAJAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Land & Development Site Brokerage (BPAJABAG), Special Purpose & Alternative Asset Brokerage (BPAJABAH), Real Estate Capital Markets Advisory (Debt/Equity Placement, Refinancing) (BPAJANAE)

Keywords

• Commercial real estate brokerage
• Property management services
• Commercial leasing
• Investment sales
• Corporate real estate advisory

Headquarters

HQ city

Columbia

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Brokerage Commissions: Commission-based fees on commercial real estate sales and lease transactions, including investment sales, office/retail/industrial leasing, tenant representation, and land sales.
2. Property Management Fees: Ongoing property management fees for commercial properties under management, including operational reports, tenant relations, maintenance services, and budget management.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

NAI Columbia is a broker-owned full-service commercial real estate firm providing investment sales, office/retail/industrial leasing, tenant and landlord representation, land sales, and special asset services through its brokerage team. The firm also delivers ongoing property management, project management, development and build-to-suit, and corporate/advisory services to property owners, investors, and tenants in the South Carolina Midlands and broader Carolinas region.

Product overview

NAI Columbia is a full-service commercial real estate firm offering a unified portfolio of integrated services rather than discrete software products. The core service suite comprises Brokerage Services (investment sales, office/retail/industrial leasing, tenant/landlord representation), Property Management, Project Management, Development Services, and Corporate/Advisory Services. Additionally, the firm operates Carolina Shopping Center Strategists as a specialized retail-focused team within Brokerage Services. Market Research & Reports provides quarterly market intelligence. All services are delivered through the NAI Global network of over 375 offices worldwide.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Carolina Shopping Center Strategists: A specialized retail investment team within NAI Columbia comprising Patrick Palmer CCIM, Bobby Balboni CCIM, and Sam Edens, focusing on shopping center transactions and retail investment strategy.

Quantifiable outcome

• Market leader in South Carolina brokerage services production for nearly three consecutive decades
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• NAI Earle FurmancoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Partnership established in 2019 between NAI Earle Furman (Greenville, SC) and NAI Columbia to expand market footprint in the South Carolina Midlands. NAI Earle Furman is based in Greenville and serves the Upstate of South Carolina. The partnership merged officially in January 2023, combining expertise across the Carolinas.
• NAI Piedmont TriadcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017NAI Earle Furman and NAI Piedmont Triad joined forces in 2017 to form a creative commercial real estate collaboration across state lines (South Carolina and North Carolina). The partnership expanded with NAI Columbia in 2019, and in 2024 NAI Piedmont Triad opened its third location in Winston-Salem, NC, bringing the total number of combined offices to seven.
• NAI GlobalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNAI Columbia is affiliated with NAI Global, the world's only managed network of owner-operated commercial real estate brokerage firms. NAI Global provides access to over 375 offices strategically located throughout North America, Latin America, Europe, and Asia Pacific, with more than 6,000 local market professionals managing over 1.15 billion square feet of property.
• EDENSminorOthersNAI Avant (predecessor to NAI Columbia) was derived from EDENS and Avant, which was founded in Columbia, S.C. in 1966. NAI Avant continued serving the Midlands before its sunsetting and reformation as NAI Columbia under new leadership. EDENS is a national real estate developer with $6 billion in real estate assets, and NAI Columbia's development team has expertise refined at EDENS.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Lee & Associates: Privately held commercial real estate brokerage network with a comparable principal-owned structure and full-service capabilities, including industrial, office, retail, and investment sales.
• Avison Young: Privately held global commercial real estate services firm with a similar mid-size, principal-led model. Competes head-to-head on office, industrial, retail, and investment sales across the Carolinas.
• NAI Piedmont Triad: Sister firm in the NAI Global network operating in North Carolina, part of the same Carolinas alliance. Provides the same full-service brokerage, property management, and advisory model across state lines.
• NAI Earle Furman: Sister firm in the NAI Global network serving the Upstate of South Carolina. Merged with NAI Columbia in January 2023, making it the most directly comparable peer in service mix, scale, and ownership structure.

Broad incumbents

• CBRE Group: World's largest commercial real estate services firm, with deep brokerage, valuation, and property management operations. Dominates institutional capital and large corporate accounts that NAI Columbia must access via the NAI Global network.
• Cushman & Wakefield: Global commercial real estate services firm with a similar service portfolio across brokerage, property management, and advisory. Competes in the Carolinas office, industrial, and retail submarkets.
• Colliers International: Global commercial real estate services firm with full-service brokerage, property management, and advisory capabilities. Larger and broader than NAI Columbia but offers overlapping services in the Carolinas.
• Newmark Group: Global commercial real estate advisor with capital markets, leasing, and property management capabilities. Increasingly active in Southeast secondary markets and competes for institutional capital flow.
• Marcus & Millichap: Specialized commercial real estate investment sales firm with a focus on smaller-to-mid-market transactions. Comparable in transaction size and target client base for investment sales across the Carolinas.
• JLL (Jones Lang LaSalle): Global commercial real estate and investment management firm with full-service brokerage, property management, and capital markets. Competes for the largest enterprise and institutional mandates in the region.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/NAIColumbia
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/naicolumbia
• Xx.com/naicolumbia

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about NAI Columbia