Last year was the best 12 months ever for some of L.A.’s top-producing residential real estate agents. The Top 5 agents based on sales volume in L.A. did more than $1 billion worth of real estate transactions each.
Beverly Hills-based Westside Estate Agency Inc.’s Kurt Rappaport held onto the No. 1 spot with a whopping $1.6 billion sold. The Altman Brothers team, led by Josh Altman took the No. 2 spot with $1.5 billion of sales.
The husband-and-wife team of Rayni Williams and Branden Williams and Compass Inc.’s Aaron Kirman tied for the No. 3 spot with $1.2 billion worth of sales. Rounding out the Top 5 was Compass’ Chris Cortazzo. The Malibu specialist did $1 billion worth of transactions.
“In 2020 and 2021, we saw demand for the high-end, all-encompassing family home/compound,” Rayni Williams said. She added that buyers were thinking about what they truly need in a home and what makes a home a sanctuary.
Kirman called 2021 a “record-breaking year.”
“We sold a lot of amazing houses. The luxury market was so on fire. Who expected it to continue for as long as it did? It was an amazing year,” he said. “It’s a combination of things. Obviously, Covid was the precipice for the residential markets to take off and people realized how important the house was and were willing to spend the money. Money was freeflowing but with all of those things going and interest rates as low as they were, it led to a really dynamic marketplace.”
It was a big year across the board with 14 agents or teams reporting more than $500,000 worth of sales volume in Los Angeles, compared with only nine the year prior.
“It was the best year I ever had. It was the best year many agents have ever had and, in some respects, by a long shot,” said Hilton & Hyland Real Estate Inc.’s David Kramer, who claimed the No. 34 spot on the list with $308 million worth of sales.
Mauricio Umansky, founder and chief executive of Beverly Hills-based The Agency, agreed. He ranked No. 37 on the list with $298 million in sales.
“We had an amazing year both (me personally and) at The Agency, we beat our projections and our estimates by a considerable amount. We were estimating $200 million of revenue and hit about $227 (million). It was a very nice year for us. Personally, the same. Crushed it, grew a bunch of franchises and it was a really great year for sales,” Umansky said.
Tami Pardee, founder and chief executive of Venice-based Pardee Properties, said her company also had a great year and sold 30% to 35% more than usual. She ranked No. 7 on the list with $812 million in sales.