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Christie’s International recruits top OC agent Casey Lesher

He joins from Coldwell Banker, marking another strategic addition to luxe agency

Christie’s AKG Poaches Top OC Agent From Coldwell Banker
Casey Lesher and Jamie Duran at Christie’s (Christie’s International Real Estate)

Christie’s International Real Estate has recruited a top Orange County agent from Coldwell Banker, marking another high-profile get for the brokerage. 

Casey Lesher has joined Christie’s International on its Orange County team, according to an announcement from the agency. 

Lesher is focused on Corona del Mar, where the median listing price in March was $4.8 million, according to Realtor.com data. Since Lesher started his career in 2007, he has closed more than $1.85 billion worth of deals. Lesher joined Coldwell Banker in 2018 from HOM Sotheby’s International Realty. 

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Christie’s International has focused on expanding into Southern California over the last six months. The brokerage got its foothold in L.A. in November 2022, when it teamed up with star broker Aaron Kirman’s group, initialized as AKG. While the brokerage is still registered with the state as Christie’s AKG, it is in the process of changing its name to Christie’s International, as it continues to expand throughout Southern California.

The brokerage is planning to open new offices in Newport Beach, Del Mar, Calabasas, Sherman Oaks, Montecito, Pasadena and Palm Springs. 

Last June, Christie’s recruited top agent Cindy Ambuehl in conjunction with opening its office in Brentwood.

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Jamie Duran, Coldwell Banker’s former Southern California lead, has joined Christie’s International Real Estate and will help open seven offices for the brokerage across Southern California over the next six months, Christie’s International announced on Tuesday. Duran will join Aaron Kirman’s team as president and will primarily focus on expanding the team beyond the Westside. The brokerage is planning to open outposts in Newport Beach, Del Mar, Calabasas, Sherman Oaks, Montecito, Pasadena and Palm Springs. Duran had run Southern California for Coldwell Banker from 2019 until last year, when the brokerage’s CEO Kamini Lane eliminated the role and tapped Northern California lead Jennifer Lind to be the brokerage’s Western regional president. Before that, Duran had spent more than 30 years at Coldwell Banker. Duran said she was focused on attracting “the best agents” and would “leverage the exposure to Christie’s auction house.” “We are not a ‘reality TV brokerage’ or a publicly traded real estate company that puts shareholders ahead of agents and clients,” Kirman said in a statement. Christie’s International co-CEO Thad Wong said the firm was aiming to be “No. 1 in Southern California luxury.” “We have the brand, we have the platform, and now we have the people,” Wong said in a statement. In 2022, Kirman made headlines for striking out from Compass and starting his own brokerage in partnership with Christie’s International. His firm is called AKG Christie’s International Real Estate. Kirman did $1.1 billion in on-market sales in 2023, topping TRD’s Los Angeles residential broker rankings last year.
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