The group started gathering at 5 p.m., into the movie-perfect yard of a Twenties Spanish-style Los Angeles property as soon as owned by Madonna. The air was so mushy and eucalyptus-scented you possibly can wrap your self in it. Glasses clinked. The pool glinted within the slinking solar. Within the Santa Monica Mountains above, the Hollywood signal gleamed like a row of completely capped enamel.
Into that golden gentle stepped Mauricio Umansky, contemporary off his debut the night time earlier than on “Dancing With the Stars.” He made his method to a crystal podium and started cracking jokes for the attendees, who have been there for a star-studded awards present.
In contrast to the Oscars or the Golden Globes, these awards didn’t go to actors, administrators or screenwriters. They went to actual property brokers, topped in classes like “Stratospheric Sale of the Yr.” (The winner of that award was Kurt Rappaport, who represented Beyoncé and Jay-Z as they closed on a $190 million Malibu pad final Might.) As an actual property dealer with two seasons of “Shopping for Beverly Hills” and 13 seasons as an actual husband on “The Actual Housewives of Beverly Hills” beneath his belt, Mr. Umansky was the consummate M.C. for the night’s Energy Dealer Awards.
Movie star has transfixed the true property world. Brokers in markets like Los Angeles and New York chase stardom as fervently as they chase offers.
They rose to glitzy heights in the course of the pandemic, floating into residing rooms on exhibits like “Million Greenback Itemizing,” “Million Greenback Seashore Home” and “Shopping for Beverly Hills.” Captive audiences watched brokers rake in six-figure commissions and wrangle private dramas as they listed, purchased and offered a few of America’s most eye-popping actual property. “Promoting Sundown,” by which an ensemble forged of couture-clad brokers bickers and bids in six-inch heels, premiered in 2019 and rapidly turned certainly one of Netflix’s hottest exhibits.
The brokers now have true endurance, fueled by viewers’ insatiable need for actuality tv content material and the escapism of peeking at properties they may by no means afford to personal.
Housing affordability in the US is at a crushing low, with skyrocketing costs, elevated mortgage charges and a scarcity of stock accessible to low- and middle-income households. The dream of homeownership is extra elusive for Individuals than it has been in a long time. In response to Danielle J. Lindemann, a professor of sociology at Lehigh College and the writer of “True Story: What Actuality TV Says About Us,” that disconnect will increase the packages’ attract, increasing the daydream of Zillow browsing by packaging it as premium content material.
“Paradoxically, with these exhibits, we as viewers forge what’s known as a parasocial relationship, which is sort of a friendship or private relationship with a personality on TV,” Dr. Lindemann mentioned. “We need to see this wealth. We will reside vicariously by means of it. You get to exist on this hyperreality the place you virtually get to really feel such as you’re part of it.”
The newest season of “Promoting Sundown” introduced in about 3.2 million streaming viewers per episode, in accordance with Nielsen Media Analysis; “Shopping for Beverly Hills” drew 1.7 million per episode in its first season and numbers for its second season, which premiered March 22, are up about 5 %.
For comparability, “The Actual Housewives of Beverly Hills” (on which Mr. Umansky’s estranged spouse, Kyle Richards, repeatedly discusses their relationship) peaked at 2.5 million views in its newest season.
‘Catapult My Actual Property Profession’
“Each agent at present is making an attempt to get their very own present,” mentioned Alexander Ali, founding father of the Society Group, a Los Angeles-based public relations agency that solely markets superstar brokers and their properties. “You’ll be hard-pressed to search out an agent who doesn’t have social media and a P.R. technique.”
His firm represents brokers who’ve labored with the Kardashians, Ariana Grande and Justin Timberlake — Mr. Ali calls it “the C.A.A. of actual property,” referring to the Hollywood expertise company. Three years in the past, he determined to create the Energy Dealer Awards.
The Hollywood Reporter, which since 2017 has invested closely in its actual property protection, has been a co-sponsor of the awards since their inception. The journal publishes an annual listing of the highest brokers in Los Angeles and New York primarily based on their gross sales quantity, properties offered to Hollywood shoppers, and visibility within the media.
Thrice a yr, in Los Angeles, Miami and New York, Mr. Ali companions with The Wall Avenue Journal for an occasion known as “Upfronts,” a sneak preview of actual property listings that high brokers plan to place in the marketplace later within the yr. It’s held in a movie screening room and modeled after the annual displays that tv networks make to entice advertisers to their upcoming exhibits.
Many luxurious brokers now say that in a market that’s extra crowded than ever, showing on tv is likely one of the handiest methods to remain forward of the pack. The times when brokers’ choices for luring shoppers have been restricted to splashing their faces on bus-stop benches and taking out adverts within the again web page of the Pennysaver are lengthy gone.
In the true property brokerage trade, as within the housing market — the place median dwelling costs at the moment are six occasions the median American earnings and a majority of American renters are spending greater than 30 % of their earnings on lease and utilities — there’s a chasm between the haves and have-nots. The common agent earns $46,014 a yr, in accordance with the Nationwide Affiliation of Realtors. Mr. Umansky’s web price is $100 million, in accordance with experiences.
“After I determined to go on tv, I mentioned, if I’m going to do that, it’s going to be for the sake of the enterprise and the sake of rising my title,” mentioned Mr. Umansky, 53, in an interview.
He acquired his begin in actual property on the agency Hilton & Hyland, which was based, and co-owned on the time, by his brother-in-law Richard Hilton (of the Hilton Resort dynasty).” Mr. Umansky first appeared on “Actual Housewives” in 2010 after which capitalized on the publicity to launch his personal actual property firm, the Company, in 2011. “Shopping for Beverly Hills” premiered in 2022. The Company earned $12.4 billion in gross sales that yr — over $1 billion greater than in 2021.
Some youthful brokers who joined tv exhibits say they see superstar as one of many quickest methods to construct their manufacturers. Mia Calabrese, a New York-based agent with Nest Seekers Worldwide, had solely been an actual property agent for 2 years when she joined the Discovery+ sequence “Promoting the Hamptons” in 2021.
“It was a chance to catapult my actual property profession,” mentioned Ms. Calabrese, 32. “Having the platform of being on tv permits you to be uncovered to so many alternative shoppers and so many alternative markets. It’s a promoting level for my sellers. My listings are going to get extra eyes than a list with somebody who’s not on tv.”
How It Began
Luxurious actual property voyeurism has been a fixture on tv since “Life of the Wealthy and Well-known.” That present, which ran from 1984 to 1995, made its host, Robin Leach, a family title — and family voice. However TV actual property brokers didn’t actually step into the highlight till 2012, when “Million Greenback Itemizing,” already a fixture in Los Angeles, hit New York as properly.
At first, that highlight was restricted. House renovation exhibits, which took off in the identical interval, provided a sooner observe to fame for his or her main figures, like Chip and Joanna Gaines and Drew and Jonathan Scott (a.okay.a. the Property Brothers), who confirmed Individuals find out how to flip common properties in a matter of weeks (usually with questionable off-camera outcomes).
John Gomes and Fredrik Eklund, who lead a 90-person superteam at Douglas Elliman Actual Property, have been already profitable brokers when Mr. Eklund joined the primary season of “Million Greenback Itemizing New York.”
Changing into a tv star was “very intentional,” Mr. Eklund mentioned.
When he arrived in New York within the early 2000s, Mr. Eklund was already well-known in his native Sweden. This was partly due to his earlier profession as an grownup movie star with the nom de porn Tag Eriksson. But it surely was additionally as a result of he understood the invisible, influential forex that fame can ship: He grew up in a outstanding household with hyperlinks to prime ministers and the movie director Ingmar Bergman.
Mr. Eklund believed that his offscreen enterprise as an actual property agent would profit if he constructed the proper of onscreen persona.
“I spotted in a short time the extra weak and truthful and open I’m with the viewers, with the digital camera, the extra of a model in actual property I’ll grow to be,” he mentioned.
Mr. Gomes and Mr. Eklund offered greater than $3.7 billion price of actual property in 2023 and rely Gigi Hadid, Sarah Jessica Parker, Jennifer Lopez and Daniel Craig amongst their shoppers.
Many brokers who work with megastars say the important thing to their success is furiously safeguarding their shoppers’ privateness and stepping past the normal function of salesperson to grow to be extra of a confidante.
Tomer Fridman, the unique agent of the Kardashian clan, is tight-lipped in regards to the celebrities he works with. However he admits that his function of their lives goes far past actual property. At a time when Hollywood’s ultrarich are more and more seeking to grow to be actual property moguls, Mr. Fridman acts as a monetary adviser.
“You’ll want to be a trendsetter for these shoppers,” he mentioned. “It’s a must to see the market traits and the place they need to be investing.”
Mr. Fridman, an actual property agent with the Jones Fridman Group at Compass, resisted occurring tv for greater than a decade, regardless of his A-list clientele. However he, too, is now purchasing round a pilot for an as-yet-untitled actuality tv present.
After the Energy Dealer Awards wrapped, the attendees loaded into Ubers and headed to the Hollywood Hills for an after-party on the Californication Home, a $38 million custom-built James Bond-inspired mansion with a fireplace pit sunken inside its infinity pool. The home was constructed on spec — that’s, with no specific purchaser in thoughts — by Branden and Rayni Williams, an actual property energy couple whose shopper listing reads like a string of TMZ information alerts: Jennifer Lopez, Bruce Willis and Jane Fonda, to call a number of.
The Williamses designed the 13,000-square-foot home and oversaw its development and design, together with a secret nightclub tucked on its decrease degree and a $40,000 {custom} rotating spherical mattress. The after-party — attended by a who’s who of Los Angeles actual property — doubled as an open home for the property.
Among the many visitors was the “Promoting Sundown” star Jason Oppenheim, who runs the luxurious brokerage the Oppenheim Group alongside his twin brother, Brett, and whose romantic life is common featured on the present. Standing on one of many Californication Home’s many glass-enclosed balconies as Los Angeles glittered under, Mr. Oppenheim mentioned he hoped his fame was serving to common Individuals see actual property as a path towards rising their very own incomes.
“To the extent that I’ve helped appeal to folks to actual property, I’m proud,” he mentioned. “For me, actual property is probably the most thrilling factor on this planet and it’s nice for producing wealth for folks.”
Out of the Highlight
Some brokers who’ve been on tv say that the intense lights got here with an uncomfortable glare.
Aaron Kirman was a daily on CNBC’s “Secret Lives of the Tremendous Wealthy” when the community provided him his personal program, “Itemizing Unimaginable.” The present aired in 2020, on the top of the pandemic, however was not renewed after its first season.
Mr. Kirman, chief government of Christie’s Worldwide Actual Property California, mentioned he liked being the star of his personal sequence, however from a monetary perspective, it wasn’t price it.
“I actually needed TV, and I fought to get on TV,” he mentioned. “But it surely took time away from my enterprise, and I misplaced thousands and thousands of {dollars} in listings in consequence.”
Mr. Kirman mentioned he was open to showing on one other program sooner or later, however wasn’t chasing the concept. He’s targeted on his listings, which embody an eight-bed, 20-bath property in Beverly Hills listed for $126 million.
Josh Altman has been showing on “Million Greenback Itemizing” since 2011, usually alongside his brother, Matthew. He mentioned he considers the time he spends filming to be a savvy funding in his profession.
“We hold doing the present as a result of it’s one other promoting device for us, the identical means you’d pay to be in sure magazines,” he mentioned. “It opened quite a lot of doorways for us.”
However he doesn’t credit score his success to being on TV. If something, he says, the alternative is true. Mr. Altman says that the Altman Brothers — the siblings’ actual property group at Douglas Elliman — sells greater than $1 billion in actual property annually.
“The present didn’t make us,” he mentioned. “We made the present.”
