Mauricio Umansky is founder and CEO of The Agency, a luxury real estate firm with more than 40 offices worldwide. He’s well-known throughout the industry for selling the most homes in the country for over $20 million—including the Playboy Mansion. He’s also, of course, recognizable to reality TV fans, from his stint on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, alongside his wife Kyle Richards. We spoke to Mauricio about his latest news—including launching an office in New Canaan, CT, with Cliff Smith and Todd David Miller.
What separates The Agency from other luxury real estate firms?
We are a boutique firm with a truly global reach. Our brand is unmatched in its power to deliver results for our agents and clients. We are truly like a family and every office and agent is treated like they are part of a team. We share our successes and resources while supporting one another. We also thrive on showcasing the unique attributes of each of our agents and the regions we service. Much like a family spread all over the world, The Agency offers a truly distinct and unmatched experience for our agents and our properties.
Why did you decide to open up your newest office in downtown New Canaan?
Our New Canaan office is one of our new franchises on the east coast. We are proud to welcome Cliff Smith and Todd David Miller to The Agency family as franchisees in Connecticut. We look for like-minded professionals to work with who are not only well-respected and regarded in the real estate industry, but also share the same vision and culture that is unique to The Agency.
How did you become connected with Cliff Smith and Todd David Miller?
Cliff and Todd reached out to me last year with the idea of bringing The Agency to Connecticut. It came at a perfect time as we were beginning to expand the brokerage into other luxury markets in strategic locations on the east coast. With Fairfield County being a suburb of NYC, and New Canaan specifically being such a beautiful and desirable town, we felt very confident this was a natural fit. Cliff and Todd were also our ideal partners to lead the charge as they already had such a strong business and reputation in the area with sales topping $100M in 2020. They both represent The Agency culture and brand so well. We couldn’t be happier with this endeavor.
What trends are you seeing in real estate?
On a macro level across the country, we are seeing similar trends with buyers opting for suburban living over dense cities. With the work-from-home culture remaining, buyers have the option of working from anywhere. This is to the benefit of suburban towns like New Canaan and others in Fairfield County. New Canaan has been a top choice among New Yorkers exiting the city with its beautiful, quintessential Connecticut estates, top schools and the wide variety of dining destinations and boutique shopping.
You’ve been in real estate for a long time. What has changed in the industry and what has stayed the same?
People are always talking about how the real estate industry will become a more automated service and agents will be replaced with tech. This is not the case at all. Real estate is one of the most personal decisions and one of the largest financial decisions a person will make. An app can’t tell you about the school district, neighborhood, history of the home, street, or suburb. Tech will make marketing easier for real estate agents, but it will never, ever replace them.
You’re a father to four girls. Do you think any of them will follow in your footsteps?
I am so blessed that two of my daughters – Farrah and Alexia – already work with me as part of the Umansky Team at The Agency. I love my job and I love it even more when I get to work with my daughters and my father every day. My other two daughters – Sophia and Portia – are in college and grade school respectively. I support them in whatever career path they choose and I want them to be happy and love what they do.
What is the best advice you received, in terms of success?
The best advice I received in terms of success is to work hard and smart and love what you do. I tell my daughters this and will continue to tell them as they grow in their careers and life.
What’s your favorite part of being a #girldad?
My girls are so fun and full of life and are a pleasure to be around. We are a tight-knit family and we love to spend time together doing fun activities and we laugh a lot. I have four amazing best friends in my daughters.
We love to support local businesses. In LA, where are your favorite place(s) to: Get coffee, go for date night, work out, have fun as a family, and go shopping?
Coffee – I enjoy getting a good cup of coffee at The Agency’s headquarters in Beverly Hills.
Date Night – My wife and I love Craig’s. It has such a great atmosphere and amazing food.
Work Out – I am lucky to have a home gym so I can find time to work out before work, after work, or in between meetings. But when I do have time, I love to hit the hiking and biking trails in LA and Palm Springs and I really enjoy playing golf.
As A Family – One of my favorite things to do as a family is to enjoy a home-cooked meal at our house.
Go Shopping – We are lucky to have some of the best shopping spots in LA including Rodeo Drive, The Grove, The Beverly Center, Third Street Promenade and Century City Mall. I don’t shop as much as I would like to, but when I do one of my favorite stores is Travis Mathers.
This story originally appeared on The Local Moms Network.