November seems far off, but some agents are looking to the fourth quarter and what the election for California Insurance Commissioner could yield.
Carolwood Estates’ David Yadegaran is one. The Real Deal caught up with him on Friday as his co-listing in Brentwood on actor Patricia Richardson’s home was set to close. He said he’s hopeful about the year. Big sporting events such as the FIFA World Cup and 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games are part of the optimism. The other is the November election when a new insurance commissioner will be voted in.
“Insurance has been one of the biggest challenges,” he said. “It’s been a tightening factor for L.A. over the last few years on top of [Measure] ULA.”
With current Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara termed out, four fresh faces – three Democrats and one Republican – are looking to tackle one of real estate’s biggest headaches.
Landscape of hopefuls
So far, that candidate crop includes:
- Ben Allen (D), an attorney and state senator from Santa Monica. Allen is looking to make the Department of Insurance more transparent, wean more people off the state’s FAIR Plan and regulate how carriers respond following a fire or other disaster.
- Steven Bradford (D), a former state senator and 2009 mayor of Gardena. He’s pushing for transparent pricing, discounts for properties that address earthquake or fire prevention and a public-private insurance partnership in high-risk communities.
- Patrick Wolff (D), originally from New York, Wolff founded an auto and home insurance business and holds a property and casualty license from the state. Wolff aims to up the accountability of insurance companies with mandates such as discounts for homeowners with reduced fire risks around their properties and the disclosure of underinsurance.
- Stacy Korsgaden (R), A San Luis Obispo County licensed insurance professional since 1988 who said in a CalMatters guest column the state’s problems are the result of “decades of accumulating regulations, rigid price controls, insufficient wildfire prevention and mitigation” among other “unmanaged factors.”
Coldwell Banker’s latest play
As market consolidation goes, Coldwell Banker Real Estate’s gotten 2026 off to a fine start.
The brokerage’s latest franchising deal is with Cal American Homes owners Jessie Rodriguez and Aaron Juarez, who have since renamed their business Coldwell Banker Icon.
Rodriguez started Cal American in Rancho Cucamonga around the time of the Great Financial Crisis, after obtaining his license at the age of 19 while in college. After working for other people, he struck off on his own.
“Then the market turned and it crashed,” Rodriguez recalled.
He said he viewed that period of time, in which the Inland Empire was commonly cast as the poster child for the foreclosure crisis, as an opportunity to start at the bottom and grow a business from there.
“It kind of felt like the wild, wild west,” he said of the subprime mortgage meltdown that devastated commercial and residential real estate. “Everything was so devastated and prices were down…. It was a great time to learn.”
Then the market rebounded.
Rodriguez and Juarez brought about 25 agents and a Claremont office to Coldwell Banker, with plans to open a South Orange County outpost this month, followed by the acquisition of an existing brokerage business that will expand the company’s footprint back to Rancho Cucamonga and tack on another 60 agents. Details to come on both those moves.
What’s next for Alon Abady?
Alon Abady is a name those dealing in L.A.’s high end know well.
Although, the real estate investor’s most recent play this past week was a donation in the form of gifting 9911 West Pico Boulevard to West Coast Chabad. Abady bought the 16-story office with a 1,200-vehicle parking garage from Blackstone in 2023 for $35 million, or $140 per square foot. The property will now be turned into a synagogue and facilities for education, mental and social services and events.
While the Waterfall Bridge Capital managing partner’s biggest deal was the $96 million buy of the Sofitel Hotel in Beverly Hills in 2021, he’s been a big spender when it comes to luxury homes.
That includes the 2020 purchase of Simon Cowell’s home at 717 North Palm Drive in Beverly Hills for $25 million. Abady made a tidy profit on that when he sold the home three years later for $34 million. He also sold a $16.6 million residence in La Quinta’s exclusive Madison Club community to Hailey and Justin Bieber in 2023 and, in 2024, paid $17 million for 1357 Laurel Way from conservationists Dan and Susan Gottllieb.
Resi watchers should be on the lookout for Abady’s next play.
He told TRD after a “lull” the past couple years in residential, he’s got a pipeline of listings, including an $85 million estate he’ll list through the Beverly Hills Estates. Most of the other homes headed to market, he said, will likely be priced in the $30 million to $50 million range.
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