Keyser Marston Associates

What Keyser Marston Associates does

Keyser Marston Associates, Inc. (KMA) is a privately-held, full-service real estate advisory firm founded in 1973 in San Francisco by Jerry Keyser and Tim Kelly, now headquartered in Berkeley, California with offices in Los Angeles, San Diego, and Larkspur. The firm employs approximately 25 people across four offices and operates as a boutique professional services practice serving California public-sector clients (cities, counties, transit agencies, ports, and universities), non-profit housing developers, and private developers engaged in public-private real estate transactions. KMA reports having served over 650 clients on more than 2,500 projects over its 50+ year history.

The firm's deliverables span six integrated practice areas: real estate advisory (P3 structuring and negotiation), affordable housing (transaction advisory and policy), land use economics, Enhanced Infrastructure Financing Districts (EIFDs) — a California-specific public-finance mechanism in which KMA is described as a pioneer — fiscal and economic impact analysis, and economic development strategy. KMA operates on a project-based professional services model, generating revenue through consulting fees tied to engagement scope and complexity; no public pricing or revenue disclosures are available, and the firm is certified as a State of California Small Business. Its go-to-market relies on long-tenured principal relationships and referrals rather than active marketing or external capital.

Ownership is held by eight shareholders, four of whom are women holding 57.3% of voting stock, with two of three regional offices led by female Managing Principals (Debbie Kern in Northern California; Kathe Head as President in Los Angeles). Following the 2022 retirements of founding principals Keyser and Kelly, the firm is executing a managed generational transition through internal promotions. The firm has no parent company, no external institutional investors, no subsidiaries, and no disclosed M&A activity, and there is no evidence of AI/ML or software-product capabilities — KMA's value proposition rests on senior human expertise, California-specific regulatory knowledge, and decades-long institutional client relationships.

Name

Keyser Marston Associates

Legal name

Keyser Marston Associates, Inc.

Website

https://keysermarston.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1973

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Keyser Marston Associates is a California boutique real estate advisory firm founded in 1973 that provides public-private partnership structuring, affordable housing transaction advisory, EIFD financing, and fiscal impact analysis to municipal, transit, port, university, and non-profit clients across the state.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Real Estate Advisory & Consulting Services

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Offices of Real Estate Agents and Brokers (531210)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Real Estate Public-Private Partnership (PPP) & Infrastructure-Adjacent Real Estate Advisory (BPAJANAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Real Estate Development & Feasibility Advisory (Highest-and-Best-Use, Entitlements Support) (BPAJANAC), Real Estate Market Research & Economic Advisory (Demand/Supply, Location Analytics) (BPAJANAD)

Keywords

• Real estate advisory
• Affordable housing consulting
• Public-private partnerships
• Infrastructure financing districts
• Fiscal impact analysis

Headquarters

HQ city

Berkeley

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Real Estate Advisory Consulting Services: Professional consulting fees for real estate advisory services including P3 structuring, land use economics, fiscal impact analyses, and economic development strategy

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Keyser Marston Associates (KMA) is a full-service real estate advisory firm that provides consulting services for public-private real estate development. The firm's six integrated practice areas—Real Estate Advisory, Affordable Housing, Land Use Economics, Enhanced Infrastructure Financing Districts (EIFDs), Fiscal and Economic Impacts, and Economic Development—serve public agencies, transit authorities, ports, universities, and non-profit developers across California. Services include P3 structuring, financing plan preparation, financial feasibility analyses, nexus studies, gap analyses, and market strategy formulation delivered through direct engagement with senior principals.

Product overview

Keyser Marston Associates is a full-service real estate advisory firm offering professional consulting services, not a software product company. The firm provides six integrated practice areas that work together to deliver comprehensive real estate advisory services: Real Estate Advisory (strategizing, financing and negotiating complex public-private real estate development), Affordable Housing (structuring transactions and developing policies), Land Use Economics, Enhanced Infrastructure Financing Districts (EIFDs), Fiscal and Economic Impacts analysis, and Economic Development strategy. These practice areas are designed to be integrated, allowing KMA to deliver cost-effective, coordinated service to clients across public-private partnerships, affordable housing, and urban development projects.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Real Estate Advisory

Quantifiable outcome

• EIFD projected to generate approximately $670,000 in tax increment in FY2019, growing to $42 million by FY2062, for a gross total of $967 million over the district life
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• MidPen HousingcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2020KMA provided early-stage project planning services for Lazuli Landing in Union City, a 81-unit affordable housing project. KMA prepared the requisite summary report outlining the Ground Lease Agreement and Disposition, Development, and Loan Agreement between the City and MidPen Housing Corp affiliate.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• HR&A Advisors: HR&A Advisors is a national real estate and economic development advisory firm serving public sector and private clients on complex mixed-use, infrastructure, and affordable housing transactions. Directly comparable to KMA's P3 structuring, fiscal impact analysis, and public-private deal advisory work.
• BAE Urban Economics: BAE Urban Economics provides real estate economic analysis, fiscal impact studies, and affordable housing policy consulting to California cities, counties, and developers. Closely overlaps with KMA's land use economics, fiscal impact, and affordable housing practice areas.
• Economic & Planning Systems: EPS is a Berkeley-based consulting firm providing real estate market analysis, fiscal and economic impact studies, and public-private financing advisory. Directly comparable to KMA on EIFD/IRFD formation, infrastructure finance, and municipal real estate advisory engagements.
• RCLCO: RCLCO is a national real estate advisory firm providing market analysis, feasibility studies, and public-private development strategy. Comparable to KMA's real estate advisory and economic development practices, though larger in scale and broader in geographic reach.
• TischlerBise: TischlerBise specializes in fiscal impact analysis, development impact fees, and infrastructure financing for public agencies nationwide. Overlaps significantly with KMA's fiscal and economic impacts practice area and public sector client base.
• LeSar Development Consultants: LeSar Development Consultants is a San Diego-based affordable housing and real estate advisory firm providing feasibility analyses, transaction structuring, and policy consulting. Directly comparable to KMA's affordable housing practice area and California-based nonprofit/developer client base.

Broad incumbents

• AECOM: AECOM is a global infrastructure consulting firm that offers real estate advisory, urban planning, and economic development services as part of a much broader engineering and construction portfolio. Competes with KMA on large-scale P3 and infrastructure financing mandates but does not focus exclusively on California's public sector.
• JLL (Jones Lang LaSalle): JLL is a global commercial real estate services firm offering capital markets advisory, project management, and consulting. Overlaps with KMA's advisory work at the high end of the market but serves a far broader and more diversified client base across geographies and asset types.
• Newmark Group: Newmark provides commercial real estate advisory, capital markets, and consulting services to public and private clients across the U.S. Overlaps with KMA on government real estate advisory but at much broader scale and across asset classes beyond California public-private development.
• CBRE Group: CBRE is the world's largest commercial real estate services and investment firm with advisory and consulting practices spanning valuation, capital markets, and government/public sector. Adjacent to KMA's advisory scope but operates at vastly greater scale and across all real estate sectors.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/82533/admin/feed/posts

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 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 Keyser Marston Associates