Southern California luxury residential market headwinds? Don’t tell that to these Sotheby’s International Realty agents.
Longtime Angelinos, tech execs heading south from Silicon Valley, and international buyers on the hunt for a slice of coastline to call their own are keeping Southern California’s luxury residential agents busy. We spoke with three agents who combine intimate submarket knowledge with the resources and network of Sotheby’s International Realty to succeed in one of the most competitive luxury real estate markets in the country.
Creating community
Montecito native Dusty Baker has watched his hometown transform from a place where people went to retire to a thriving family-centric community. Head of the Dusty Baker Group, the 15-year real estate veteran focuses on the area’s hottest neighborhoods, including Montecito, Hope Ranch, and the Riviera.
“It’s getting very young, primarily tech and finance money,” he tells us. “We have people moving here, and they don’t want to feel isolated up in the hills.”
He describes a movement away from trophy homes with sweeping views and toward larger lots in flatter areas where people can build their own compounds, complete with home gyms and accessory dwelling units for parents.
“We started to see this about eight or nine years ago, mostly tech money in San Francisco coming down,” he says. When the COVID-19 pandemic made remote work ubiquitous, buying an acre in Montecito for the same price as a postage stamp lot in Pacific Heights became enticing. “Now people are bringing their friends and family and setting down roots here.”
Baker compared working with Sotheby’s International Realty to being a member of a high-end athletic club: they provide everything that he needs to succeed, from robust PR support to hands-on relationships with executives to getting listings in front of the right buyers.
“Southern California’s luxury market continues to thrive because our agents don’t just sell homes—they curate lifestyles, build communities, and earn trust across borders,” says Cristian David, executive vice president, Southern California Region at Sotheby’s International Realty, Inc. “This is more than real estate; it’s a calling.”
Trade-up culture
Since joining Sotheby’s International Realty five years ago, Neyshia Go, head of The Go Group, has skyrocketed to the top of the brokerage’s Southern California business. Her meticulous eye for detail and her ability to position luxury properties to catch (and hold) the attention of ultra-high-net-worth buyers have made her one of the brokerage’s top performers in Southern California.
“I’ve become a passionate Sotheby’s International Realty girl,” she says. “I’ve seen the power of the brand and the network really benefit my clients and myself.”
Go leverages the power of the Sotheby’s International Realty brand to gain access to the buyers she knows will love her clients’ properties. She’s something of a staging whisperer, with an uncanny knack for turning a languishing property into a record-setting sale by making over the interior, exterior, and overall appeal.
“Last year, I sold a property that had been on the market for 15 years,” she recalls. “I told the client, ‘We aren’t going to focus on the house as you have done for over a decade. I’m going to sell the lifestyle. So we’re going to bring in horses, we’re going to show what you can do with the land, and we’re going to take you to the beach.’ We ended up selling that house in four months.”
The fuel in The Go Group’s engine? A luxury housing market defined by what Go describes as a “trade-up” psychology.
“In Los Angeles, people buy and sell real estate a lot more frequently,” she explains. “As soon as you can afford it, you get a bigger house. When you can afford a house with a pool, more bedrooms, or space for a home gym – ‘new house, here I come’.”
International clientele, personal touch
Los Angeles is an international city, and Ernie Carswell has made a name for himself helping buyers from around the world find their LA dream home. Lately he’s seen a lot of international buyers gravitating toward the Bird Streets near Beverly Hills.
“It’s been a popular place for foreign buyers to purchase because it’s very view-oriented,” he says. “We have these 20-30 mile views across the city out to the ocean.”
Over his 38-year-long real estate career, Carswell has worked in many markets with many brokerages, but he’s come to love both his Los Angeles home and Sotheby’s International Realty.
“When I started out in New York, Sotheby’s International Realty was ringing a bell for me, but it always seemed unattainable,” he recalls. “What I love about the Sotheby’s International Realty brand is that you’re taken very seriously from the first moment you mention it.”
This reputation, and the behind-the-scenes support his team of 18 agents receives from the brokerage, is especially important when working with international clients. It’s also important in an age where technology is increasingly getting between buyers and sellers and their agents.
“They keep trying to automate this,” says Carswell. “Our salvation and our future hope is built upon the understanding this is a relationship business. Yes, we sell houses, but where we really trade our value is in being trusted by another human being.”
Are you looking to join the leading luxury brokerage? Reach out to Sotheby’s International Realty today.