Multi-billion-dollar real estate broker Aaron Kirman, who leads the #1 selling team in Los Angeles and one of the top-producing teams in the nation, recently launched his own brokerage firm within the Christie’s International Real Estate global luxury network.

With over $14 billion in career sales and $1.5 billion in sales this year, including the $141 million sale of The One in Bel-Air, Kirman has represented a veritable Who’s Who of movie stars, musicians, star athletes, titans of industry, and even royalty.

Now as CEO of AKG | Christie’s International Real Estate, Kirman shares his story and talks about what the future holds for his new company and the luxury real estate market in LA.

LUXURY DEFINED: You literally began your real estate career as a teenager and now you lead the #1 luxury sales team in LA. How did you achieve this level of success?

AARON KIRMAN: Ironically, when I started working, I had a hard time keeping any job, even internships. I realized the only way I was going to succeed was to be my own boss. In my early days as an agent, one thing I did right – without even realizing it – was to develop a niche, and that niche was architecturally significant homes. It started with a floor call from a client who wanted to buy a Richard Neutra design, and over time I became known as the go-to agent for interesting architecture…homes by Neutra, Frank Gehry, Pierre Koenig. Then, people in the art and fashion world started to take an interest in these homes, and so I became intertwined with that world. And at the same time, these homes started to become very expensive, which introduced me to a new level of clientele. I took that opportunity to brand myself in a different way, and I shifted into Estates. Ultimately, I’ve always been very focused on meeting the right people, whether it’s entertainment or tech or royal family members from the Gulf states. Today, my database is pretty significant on all fronts.

LD: What motivates you?

AK: I’ve always been driven by the idea that I want to dominate my market by a variety of measures: transactions, listings, record-setting sales, marketing and advertising. To make that vision a reality, I follow the patterns of wealth that ebb in flow in the market. Luxury real estate is a global business, and I’ve gone to Europe and Asia and the Middle East to develop relationships with buyers. When COVID shifted the market and it became very domestic, we shifted our attention to U.S. clients. But at the end of the day, we want to look at ourselves in the mirror and say we did a good job – for our clients, ourselves, our teams, our company. That means giving exceptional service, working with honesty and integrity, and marketing in a way that’s viewed as forward-thinking.

LD: What is the most impactful lesson you have learned during your real estate career?

AK: I think it’s pretty common in the world of real estate – but especially in the LA luxury market – to get to a place where you start telling people what they want to hear and not what they need to hear. About 15 years ago, I had an assistant who left my team, and her parting words to me were that I put a “spin” on everything. I ran this by my business coach, and he said, ‘What if you only tell it like it is, all the time? The price is the price. The market is the market. The result is the result.’ I tested it, and the less I spun, the more successful I became. I am always going to follow that direct line to the truth, and if a client doesn’t react well to the truth, then it’s probably not the right client for me.

LD: You have represented some of LA’s most iconic properties including The One in Bel-Air, the Danny Thomas Estate which sold for $65 million, and many others. What is your approach to marketing exceptional listings?

AK: I always start with a very basic question: Who is my buyer? With very high-end listings, that might be the top 10 candidates in the market. If I can zero in on my buyer, oftentimes I’ll have the home sold before I even start marketing. Beyond that, there are really three things that make up our secret sauce. 1) We know who’s in the market because, as a team, we represent so much inventory. 2) We have great communication among our team, and that really makes our marketing more efficient. 3) We’re big proponents of technology and creative marketing. But I think people also underestimate the importance of personal interaction in today’s market. On many occasions, I have flown to London, Singapore, the Middle East or Africa to meet a client face to face.

LD: In today’s competitive brokerage landscape, what led you to partner with Christie’s International Real Estate?

AK: Over the past few years, we saw that we really wanted the ability to run a boutique office with the backing of a powerhouse brand. We were looking for a legacy name and partner that had an incredible reputation with national and international reach. Christie’s International Real Estate was the only natural fit for us. I think we’re going to see a lot of consolidation in our industry, and the beauty of Christie’s International Real Estate is that it provides a platform to operate with all the advantages of a large brokerage while maintaining the independence that differentiates us in the luxury marketplace.