Cynthia Meister selected as one of Connect Media’s Top National Women in CRE

Cynthia Meister, vice president – Investment Sales, was selected as one of 10 women to receive Connect Media’s Women in CRE recognition earlier this month.

In their selection of Cynthia, Connect Media notes her resilience, moving from a 20-year career in residential real estate into commercial in 2014, and her proficiency in finding value-add opportunities in the Albuquerque and surrounding markets. She also has a long history of giving back to the CRE community, specifically as a member, leader, and volunteer with CREW Network.

Cynthia relocated to Albuquerque in 2010 from Los Angeles to help care and support her mother after her father died. After spending more than 20 years in residential real estate in LA, she dove into the relocation thinking that she would get her New Mexico state real estate license and continue her career as a residential broker.

However, after learning more about the great divide in the industry from LA to ABQ, she decided to pivot in her late 40’s. She leveraged her original college degree in interior design and found a job in commercial interior design – at about the same pay as her first job in Los Angeles in the 1980s.
Later, she found a better fit as an investment sales broker, first working for the Colliers team run by Trevor Koskovich and Bill Hahn. She joined NorthMarq as VP of investment sales in 2018. She brings a strong background in negotiations, developing and maintaining relationships, managing client expectations, and identifying value-add opportunities.

Since she joined the Phoenix-based investment sales team, sales in New Mexico increased from sales of 706 units valued at $62,400,000 in 2016 to the 2020 year-to-date volume of 4,525 units valued at $409,350,000, a six-fold increase.

“Cynthia has a deep understanding of local history, culture, development trends, and prospects for growth. That has allowed the team to expand our client base and business into the New Mexico and El Paso, Texas markets,” said, and Cynthia’s boss since 2014.

Cynthia has prospected and identified business opportunities in the smaller cities of New Mexico (e.g., Las Cruces, Carlsbad) and has capitalized on them, where other brokers have overlooked these markets. That tenaciousness has led to the increased transaction volume. Since their start in 2016, the team has sold 4,525 units in New Mexico for a sales volume of $409,350,000.

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Her CREW relationship has continued since 2014, as she has served on the board of directors twice, currently serving as the communications committee director with 2020 CREW New Mexico President Kelly Mancha.
According to two recent CREW New Mexico presidents, Cynthia brings strategic thinking with her can-do attitude, where she never shies away from big or small projects.

Mancha said, “Cynthia prefers to lead quietly from within the organization, willing to take even the hardest jobs on the board. When I ask her to help with a project, I always know that not only will it get done on time, it will get done better than I imagined. She’s a great asset for CREW, bringing our chapter new insights and expertise.”