Pothul, who earlier this year left a senior vice president post at local firm Colliers Monroe Friedlander where he worked for 17 years, said Marcus & Millichap will introduce more major Mainland investors to the Hawai'i market.

"I've watched the tremendous growth of Mainland capital in our market over the past 18 years," said Pothul, who has found that each year, Mainland investors "increase their presence in the Hawai'i market."

Marcus & Millichap, founded in 1971, primarily represents institutional and large real estate investors either buying or selling a variety of assets, including office buildings, shopping centers, apartment complexes, hotels, industrial property and vacant land. The company has financing and research arms, but does not manage or lease property like other full-service firms.

Still, the new player will mean more competition for brokers, and resume what had been a trend of national real estate companies expanding to Hawai'i several years ago.

In the late '90s, Monroe & Friedlander affiliated with Colliers International, Coldwell Banker re-entered the local commercial real estate market, and Honolulu-based CBI Inc. became a franchise of Grubb & Ellis Co.

Other major Mainland firms such as Eastdil Realty and Secured Capital Corp. more recently have been increasingly assisting local brokers but not establishing a physical presence in the state.

Meanwhile, Hawai'i's real estate market has become more active, led by Mainland investors. Commercial property purchases last year totaled $2.1 billion, or more than double the previous year, according to a Colliers Monroe Friedlander analysis of transactions valued at more than $1 million each.

Pothul said his goal is to generate $300 million to $500 million in transactions in the first year for Marcus & Millichap, and in five years reach $1 billion.

Last year Marcus & Millichap brokered $10.3 billion in property transactions, up from about $4 billion in 1997. The company has 38 offices in 19 states and the District of Columbia. Many of the offices were added since the mid-'90s, and the firm anticipates continued growth in new markets.