This fall, Inman will honor the inaugural class of inductees into the Inman Golden I Club. The class will be announced live at Luxury Connect, Oct. 16-17 in Beverly Hills.
What is the Inman Golden I (pronounced “eye”) Club? It’s nothing less than the highest honor in luxury real estate. We’ll be awarding Golden I awards in nine categories:
- Top Luxury Agent 2019
- Top Luxury Team 2019
- Top Luxury Brokerage 2019
- Best City Sale 2019
- Best Mountain Sale 2019
- Best Beach Sale 2019
- Best Sales and Marketing Campaign for a Luxury Property 2019
- Best Sales and Marketing Campaign by a Luxury Development 2019
- Golden I Hall of Fame
The following are the finalists in the top agent and team categories. Best sales and marketing campaign and best mountain and beach sales finalists have been announced. Finalists in the other categories will be announced soon.
Top Luxury Agent 2019
This award is not a numerical ranking of top agents by sales volume or number of deals closed. Rather, the Top Luxury Agent award is given annually to the U.S.-based agent who most stood out from the crowd in innovative ways in the past year, by closing epic deals and changing the luxury game from within.
Jordan Cohen, RE/MAX Olson & Associates, Westlake Village, California
In the past year, Jordan Cohen represented producer Thomas Tull in the record-breaking sale of his $35 million estate in exclusive Westlake Village, California. The deal is now the highest-priced residential sale ever in the Conejo Valley and Ventura County. Cohen also represented the buyer in the largest sale in San Fernando Valley history with a purchase price of $22.2 million. To date, Cohen has closed approximately $150 million in sales in 2019.
Chris Cortazzo, Compass, Los Angeles and Orange counties
With more than $5 billion in sales throughout his career, Chris Cortazzo recently made a headline-grabbing jump to Compass from Coldwell Banker. Notable Malibu listings currently held by Cortazzo include a waterfront contemporary home designed by architect Guy Dreier asking $65 million, a 4.47-acre La Villa Contenta estate asking $62 million and a newly constructed modern home on Carbon Beach asking $34.5 million.
Nelson Gonzalez, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices EMW Realty, Miami-Dade County
Tallying nearly $150 million in sales so far in 2019, Nelson Gonzalez ranks as top of producers for Miami-Dade County.
This year, he surpassed the record $33 million sale he brokered in 2015 with the sale of another mega-property that closed for more than $35 million. He is senior vice president of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices EWM Realty.
Dana Green, Compass, Lafayette, California
Dana Green has lived and worked in Lafayette, California, her entire life. As the area’s leading Realtor for the past 10 years, she boasts more than 780 total transactions closed and over $1.3 billion in total sales. She has been ranked the No. 1 Realtor in Lafayette, Lamorinda and Contra Costa County.
Neal Norman, Hawaii Life, Hawaii
Neal Norman sold the highest-priced property ever in the state of Hawaii in November 2018 and represented both buyer and seller in the $46.1 million transaction. He’s been the No. 1 broker on the island of Kauai every year since 2009 and has surpassed $1 billion in real estate sales in his career.
David Offer, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties, Brentwood, California
Having completed over 950 transactions totaling in excess of $3.2 billion, David Offer was the No. 1 producing agent in the United States in 2018 out of nearly 50,000 Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices agents and has been the No. 1 producer for the firm every year since 2012.
Nancy Tassone, Jameson Sotheby’s International Realty, Chicago, Illinois
In 2018, Nancy Tassone shattered the record sale price in Chicagoland with the sale of the penthouse at No. 9 Walton. With nearly $1 billion in closed sales over her career, Tassone has been named a Chicago Association of Realtors Top Producer annually since 2005.
Top Luxury Team 2019
This award is not a numerical ranking of top teams by sales volume or number of deals closed. Rather, the Top Luxury Team award is given annually to the U.S.-based team that most stood out from the crowd in innovative ways in the past year, by closing epic deals and changing the luxury game from within.
The Carroll Group of Douglas Elliman, Florida
Annually Douglas Elliman’s top-producing team, Florida-based The Carroll Group boasts over $1.5 billion in closed sales. Led by Chad Carroll, the team doubled its sales in 2018.
James Harris and David Parnes, Directors, The Agency, Los Angeles, California
This year, the duo of James Harris and David Parnes has been the driving force behind the sales of some of Los Angeles’ well-known properties, including 594 S. Mapleton Drive, Holmby Hills (otherwise known as The Manor) for $120 million.
The Manor sale is the highest-priced home to sell in Los Angeles and the fourth-highest sale in the country.
Sally Forster Jones Group, Compass, Beverly Hills, California
Sally Forster Jones’s professional progression over the past 40-plus years has resulted in her becoming one of the top real estate brokers in Southern California. As of 2018, Sally is the executive director of luxury estates at Compass, in their Beverly Hills offices. In 2019, she was listed among the top five agents in Los Angeles for total sales volume by L.A. Business Journal, based on her $354 million 2018 total sales volume.
Riskin Partners Estate Group, Village Properties, Santa Barbara, California
The Riskin Partners team suffered the unimaginable loss of its leader, Rebecca Riskin, in the mudslides in 2018.
Since then, the team has proved its mettle by continuing as the No. 1 team in the Montecito and Santa Barbara, California, luxury markets.
Marc and Sara Shevin, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties, Calabasas, California
Specializing in the cities of Calabasas and Hidden Hills, the Shevins are noted for their years of consistent success in the marketing and sale of luxury estates. With over $2 billion in closed residential real estate sales, they consistently rank as the No. 1 team in California and in the top 1 percent of agents nationwide for Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices.
The Serhant Team, New York City, New York
Ryan Serhant is the leading member of The Serhant Team, a New York City-based, bicoastal real estate group that has consistently ranked as the No. 1 sales team in New York and among the top five teams nationwide. Serhant stars in Bravo’s reality television series Million Dollar Listing New York and its spinoff, Sell It Like Serhant.
Rayni and Branden Williams, Williams and Williams Estates Group
In the past year alone, this duo has closed over $500 million in sales, including the record-breaking Malibu sale of $110 million on Carbon Beach; the sale of 822 Sarbonne Road for $75 million; and the Stanley House, which sold for $33 million and broke the record for the most expensive sale in the Hollywood Hills/Sunset Strip area.
