After justing establishing a downtown office and with plans to open a Studio City operation in the coming weeks, John Aaroe knows the key to setting up shop in a new neighborhood. “It’s not difficult if you’ve hired the right manager,” said the owner of luxury brokerage John Aaroe Group.

  • Next office addition for John Aaroe Group should be in Silver Lake.
  • John Aaroe cites Waze as an app that is noticeably affecting the desirability of certain streets.
  • Large agent teams will become a bigger component of the LA brokerage community.

After establishing a downtown office and with plans to open a Studio City operation in the coming weeks, John Aaroe knows the key to setting up shop in a new neighborhood.

“It’s not difficult if you’ve hired the right manager,” said the owner of luxury brokerage John Aaroe Group.

[Tweet “The key to opening neighborhood-focused brokerage offices: hiring the right office manager.”]

When selecting a manager to open a new office the brokerage ensures the individual is from the local marketplace. In short, someone who has lived and worked in that neighborhood for a number of years, often a local of the city or neighborhood.

“Someone who knows the most popular public schools (and) what streets are more desirable. Information you can’t learn through technology,” Aaroe said.

Although not a brokerage “ideally suited to bring in a lot of new agents,” John Aaroe Group will add individuals this year. Again, the office manager will play a key role.

“The manager knows the brokerage community and knows who the people are you’d be proud to have with your firm,” he added.

John Aaroe Group’s office count will reach double digits this year, as the opening of a Silver Lake office is likely. The brokerage is also targeting possible offices in various beach communities along with lower San Marino.

Office and agent growth this year is expected to push the brokerage’s total transaction volume to $2.7 billion. Last year the firm closed more than $2.3 billion of sales spread between nearly 3,000 transactions.

Trends affecting Los Angeles’ brokerage community

Aaroe forecasts that the advent of “large” agent teams will become a much bigger component of the brokerage moving forward.

Currently, the brokerage has a 15-member team, along with number of three to seven-member teams operating under the John Aaroe Group name.

“The leader (of a team) is an entrepreneur. They want to build something for themselves but within the confines of a known brand,” he said.

Shifting gears to technology, the community-based traffic app Waze is impacting some of Los Angeles’ luxury markets and listings.

“It’s changing the desirability of certain streets,” he said.

The app allows drivers to connect with one another and share traffic jam and time-saving route information.

Some of these time-saving routes require drivers to frequent streets not intended to carrying heavy traffic, especially from 4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

“It has made streets that were highly desirable looked upon differently,” he added.

Email Erik Pisor

Show Comments Hide Comments
Sign up for Inman’s Morning Headlines
What you need to know to start your day with all the latest industry developments
By submitting your email address, you agree to receive marketing emails from Inman.
Success!
Thank you for subscribing to Morning Headlines.
Back to top
×
Log in
If you created your account with Google or Facebook
Don't have an account?
Forgot your password?
No Problem

Simply enter the email address you used to create your account and click "Reset Password". You will receive additional instructions via email.

Forgot your username? If so please contact customer support at (510) 658-9252

Password Reset Confirmation

Password Reset Instructions have been sent to

Subscribe to The Weekender
Get the week's leading headlines delivered straight to your inbox.
Top headlines from around the real estate industry. Breaking news as it happens.
15 stories covering tech, special reports, video and opinion.
Unique features from hacker profiles to portal watch and video interviews.
Unique features from hacker profiles to portal watch and video interviews.
It looks like you’re already a Select Member!
To subscribe to exclusive newsletters, visit your email preferences in the account settings.
Up-to-the-minute news and interviews in your inbox, ticket discounts for Inman events and more
1-Step CheckoutPay with a credit card
By continuing, you agree to Inman’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

You will be charged . Your subscription will automatically renew for on . For more details on our payment terms and how to cancel, click here.

Interested in a group subscription?
Finish setting up your subscription
×