Sharon Karaffa is President, Multifamily Debt & Structured Finance for Newmark’s Multifamily Capital Markets division. In this role, Karaffa oversees all aspects of Multifamily Debt & Structured Finance, focusing on revenue growth, business development and client and lender relationships, while also leading Newmark’s Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and FHA lending platforms. Additionally, Karaffa is responsible for developing synergies, cross-collaboration and cross-selling among Newmark’s Multifamily Capital Markets’ Investment Sales and Debt & Structured Finance teams. She also serves on Newmark’s Executive Committee, Capital Markets Executive Committee and Multifamily Risk Management Committee.
Karaffa has over 20 years of experience, the majority of which has been in multifamily finance. Under her leadership, Newmark’s Multifamily Capital Markets platform experienced a 28-percentage point increase in the multifamily investment sales volume financed through its debt platform and a nearly 60 percent increase in multifamily debt production volume overall.i
Before joining Newmark in 2017, Karaffa was the Director of Priority Borrower Relationships and Head of Structured Transactions for Fannie Mae Multifamily, where, during her governance, credit facilities experienced triple-digit growth. In this capacity, she was responsible for managing borrower relationships, leading the structured transactions product and team, and setting the strategic direction for borrower relationships and the structured transactions products and business. Earlier in her career at Fannie Mae, Karaffa managed the acquisition of seasoned loan portfolios and various lender relationships and led the Financial Planning & Analysis division.
Professional Affiliations
- Member, National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC) Finance Committee
- Member, Fannie Mae DUS Advisory Council; Chairperson, Fannie Mae DUS DEI Subcommittee
- Serves on the Board of Directors of the National Alliance to End Homelessness
Personal Affiliations
- Serves on the Board of Directors of the National Alliance to End Homelessness
Education
Karaffa received a Bachelor of Science degree in finance from the Smeal College of Business Administration at the Pennsylvania State University.
iNumbers reflect volumes generated by Newmark’s multifamily mortgage brokerage and GSE/FHA originations businesses, which together may be referred to as “total debt”, between 2019 and 2022.
