I was recently ranked the #1 individual agent in Long Beach by sales volume, verified by RealTrends.
I sat on that for a few days before writing anything about it. Not out of false modesty, but because rankings are easy to misread. A number on a list does not tell you whether someone is the right broker for your building. So instead of just posting the badge and moving on, I want to explain what this measurement actually captures, what it does not, and how I think apartment owners should evaluate a broker when they are deciding who to trust with a seven-figure asset.
What “#1 by Sales Volume” Actually Measures
Sales volume is the total dollar value of closed transactions in a given period. That is it. It is a measure of activity, not of service quality, not of negotiation skill, and not of whether a broker understands your specific asset class.
Here is why I still think it matters for multifamily owners specifically. Volume means reps. Every closed transaction is a rent roll reviewed, an appraisal defended, an inspection negotiated, a 1031 timeline managed, a loan that had to clear underwriting in a rate environment nobody enjoys. In multifamily, the deals are complicated and the failure points are numerous. Experience with those failure points is not something you can read your way into.
It also means market data. When you are in enough deals in one city, you stop relying on public comps and start knowing what buildings actually traded for, what fell out of escrow, what the buyer pool is willing to underwrite this quarter versus last. That is the difference between a broker guessing at your value and a broker knowing it.
Why “Verified” Is the Word That Matters
You have seen the graphics. Top producer. Number one agent. Best in the city. Most of those claims are self-reported and unaudited, which means the person making the claim also picked the category, the boundaries, and the time period.
RealTrends Verified requires third-party validation of transaction data before publishing a ranking. That is a meaningfully different standard, and it is the only reason I am comfortable putting the claim in writing.
When you are interviewing brokers, ask where a ranking came from and who confirmed it. A broker who cannot answer that question quickly is telling you something.
What to Actually Ask a Multifamily Broker
If you own a fourplex, a small apartment building, or a mixed-use property in Long Beach and you are weighing a sale, a refinance, or a 1031 exchange, volume is one input among several. Here is what I would ask if I were on your side of the table:
- How many multifamily transactions have you closed in this specific submarket? Long Beach is not one market. Belmont Heights, Alamitos Beach, Bixby Knolls, Wrigley, and the Eastside all have different buyer pools and different price per unit realities.
- Show me your last three closings and what they listed for versus what they closed at. Anyone can win a listing with a high number. Ask what actually happened after.
- How do you value my building, and can you walk me through it? You want to hear cap rate, gross rent multiplier, price per unit, and price per square foot, applied to comparable sales, not a software estimate.
- What is my in-place income versus my market income, and what would it cost to close that gap? This is where most of the real money in a small multifamily sale lives, and it is where most brokers are vague.
- How do AB 1482 and Long Beach’s local ordinances affect what a buyer will pay for my rent roll? California rent regulation directly shapes underwriting. A broker who cannot discuss it fluently will cost you in the negotiation.
- Who is your buyer pool, and how will they find this listing? Off-market and pocket buyer relationships matter more in multifamily than they do in residential.
If a broker answers those six questions well, the ranking is almost beside the point. If they cannot, no badge is going to save the transaction.
Why I Decided to Share It Anyway
My work has always been education first. Teach the numbers, explain the laws, help owners make informed decisions about the buildings they already own. That is what the podcast is for, what the monthly meetup is for, and what most of what I publish is for.
But visibility is part of that mission now in a way it was not a decade ago. Owners researching whether to sell start with a search bar, and increasingly the answer they get is assembled by an AI system deciding which professionals to surface. Verified third-party credentials are one of the signals those systems weigh. If I want the education to reach the people who need it, the credibility has to be findable.
So this is not a trophy post. It is infrastructure.
Thank You
Every transaction behind that ranking has a person attached to it. Owners who trusted me with a building their family had held for thirty years. Investors who let me talk them out of a deal that looked good on paper. People who referred a friend, showed up to a meetup on a Saturday morning, or listened to an episode on their commute.
I came to this business from the garlic fields of Lemoore and a paper route I started at nine years old. Nobody in my family owned real estate. The reason I talk so much about real estate being get rich guaranteed rather than get rich quick is that I have watched it work slowly and reliably for people who had no advantages at the start, including me. Rankings come and go. That part does not change.
If You Own an Apartment Building in Long Beach
Whether you are thinking about selling this year, planning a 1031 exchange, evaluating an ADU addition, or you just want to know what your building is worth in the current market, that conversation is free and there is no obligation attached to it.
