The crowd began gathering at 5 p.m., into the movie-perfect backyard of a 1920s Spanish-style Los Angeles estate once owned by Madonna. The air was so soft and eucalyptus-scented you could wrap yourself in it. Glasses clinked. The pool glinted in the slinking sun. In the Santa Monica Mountains above, the Hollywood sign gleamed like a row of perfectly capped teeth.
Into that golden light stepped Mauricio Umansky, fresh off his debut the night before on “Dancing With the Stars.” He made his way to a crystal podium and began cracking jokes for the attendees, who were there for a star-studded awards show.
Unlike the Oscars or the Golden Globes, these awards didn’t go to actors, directors or screenwriters. They went to real estate agents, crowned in categories like “Stratospheric Sale of the Year.” (The winner of that award was Kurt Rappaport, who represented Beyoncé and Jay-Z as they closed on a $190 million Malibu pad last May.) As a real estate broker with two seasons of “Buying Beverly Hills” and 13 seasons as a real husband on “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” under his belt, Mr. Umansky was the consummate M.C. for the evening’s Power Broker Awards.
Celebrity has transfixed the real estate world. Agents in markets like Los Angeles and New York chase stardom as fervently as they chase deals.
They rose to glitzy heights during the pandemic, floating into living rooms on shows like “Million Dollar Listing,” “Million Dollar Beach House” and “Buying Beverly Hills.” Captive audiences watched agents rake in six-figure commissions and wrangle personal dramas as they listed, bought and sold some of America’s most eye-popping real estate. “Selling Sunset,” in which an ensemble cast of couture-clad agents bickers and bids in six-inch heels, premiered in 2019 and quickly became one of Netflix’s most popular shows.
The agents now have true staying power, fueled by viewers’ insatiable desire for reality television content and the escapism of peeking at properties they could never afford to own.
Housing affordability in the United States is at a crushing low, with skyrocketing prices, elevated mortgage rates and a lack of inventory accessible to low- and middle-income households. The dream of homeownership is more elusive for Americans than it has been in decades. According to Danielle J. Lindemann, a professor of sociology at Lehigh University and the author of “True Story: What Reality TV Says About Us,” that disconnect increases the programs’ allure, expanding the daydream of Zillow surfing by packaging it as premium content.
“Paradoxically, with these shows, we as viewers forge what’s called a parasocial relationship, which is like a friendship or personal relationship with a character on TV,” Dr. Lindemann said. “We want to see this wealth. We can live vicariously through it. You get to exist in this hyperreality where you almost get to feel like you’re a part of it.”
The most recent season of “Selling Sunset” brought in about 3.2 million streaming viewers per episode, according to Nielsen Media Research; “Buying 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 percent.
For comparison, “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” (on which Mr. Umansky’s estranged wife, Kyle Richards, regularly discusses their relationship) peaked at 2.5 million views in its latest season.
‘Catapult My Real Estate Career’
“Every agent today is trying to get their own show,” said Alexander Ali, founder of the Society Group, a Los Angeles-based public relations firm that exclusively markets celebrity agents and their properties. “You’ll be hard-pressed to find an agent who doesn’t have social media and a P.R. strategy.”
His company represents agents who have worked with the Kardashians, Ariana Grande and Justin Timberlake — Mr. Ali calls it “the C.A.A. of real estate,” referring to the Hollywood talent agency. Three years ago, he decided to create the Power Broker Awards.
The Hollywood Reporter, which since 2017 has invested heavily in its real estate coverage, has been a co-sponsor of the awards since their inception. The magazine publishes an annual list of the top agents in Los Angeles and New York based on their sales volume, homes sold to Hollywood clients, and visibility in the media.
Three times a year, in Los Angeles, Miami and New York, Mr. Ali partners with The Wall Street Journal for an event called “Upfronts,” a sneak preview of real estate listings that top agents plan to put on the market later in the year. It is held in a film screening room and modeled after the annual presentations that television networks make to entice advertisers to their…
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