WEA in The Hollywood Reporter: Hollywood’s Top 25 Real Estate Agents
Shaky foreign markets haven’t rocked L.A.’s residential home prices (yet), as the town’s most sought-after brokers continue to cater to stars and log record-breaking sales in markets from “blue chip” Beverly Hills to Hancock Park.
Los Angeles’ white-hot luxury home market shows no signs of cooling. The average luxury home sales price in the city grew 10.5 percent — to $7.4 million — during the second quarter of 2015, while the average number of days on the market fell 11 percent (to 88 days), according to real estate brokerage Douglas Elliman. Witness record-setting sales in some of the hottest markets — with many buyers paying al cash. “It’s a healthy market, and there’s no better place to invest,” says John Aaroe Group’s Aaron Kirman, one of THR‘s top 25 agents — presented here in alphabetical order — selected for their client rosters and killer deals.
Kurt Rappaport
After selling the landmark Fleur de Lys for $102 million in 2014,Rappaport continued to close some of L.A.’s most notable deals this year. He brokered the deal that allowed Steve Wynn to buy Guess jeans co-founder Maurice Marciano’s nearly 3-acre Beverly Hills estate for an estimated $48 million. He also sold Bea Arthur’s Brentwood estate toFrank Marshall and Kathleen Kennedy for nearly $15 million in August and represented former L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa in his Hollywood Hills purchase.
Stephen Shapiro
One of the nation’s top agents since the1980s, the co-founder and partner of Westside Estate Agency says this year has been one of his best. In June, he sold LoriLoughlin and Mossimo Giannulli a Bel Air house that once belonged to Charles Bronson for $14 million. His “one-on-one formula” is the key, Shapiro says. “I don’t operate like the other brokers, where I take dozens of listings. I just work with the clients I’ve had for years and their referrals.” He adds, “The great thing is learning we are in a really envious position as successful real estate brokers because we’re dealing with people who are far more successful than us. I use it as an opportunity to learn how these people operate and try to utilize that in my daily business deals.”
