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Kofi Nartey, one of the biggest names in sports and entertainment real estate, has moved himself and his 12-member Globl RED real estate team to The Real Brokerage, in what is just one of the latest high-profile agent moves as industry professionals reassess their business priorities amid a shifting market.
Nartey, who founded and has led the luxury firm Globl RED since 2020, now comes to The Real Brokerage as a national growth leader, which means he will work to build the brokerage’s visibility, recruit agents from across the nation and improve agent performance through coaching and development.
Sharran Srivatsaa | The Real Brokerage
“I’m thrilled to welcome Kofi to The Real Brokerage,” Real President Sharran Srivatsaa said in a statement. “Kofi is one of the most successful brokers in the residential real estate industry and an inspirational leader who shares our vision at Real of leaving the industry better than it was. Like Kofi, Real is fixated on giving agents the tools they need to realize their full potential while ensuring that they have opportunities to build long-term wealth.”
Nartey told Inman that the move just made good economic sense for him and his team at this point in his career.
“At the end of the day, it was really a smart business decision for me, based on where I am in my career and also where I see the industry going,” Nartey said. “I’ve been able to establish myself in this industry, and my name, and my brand, so one might question, ‘Why partner with another brokerage at this point?’
“But sometimes it’s to unlock additional potential that you know your company has, that you know your team has, and for me, that I know I personally have. And The Real Brokerage has the avenues for that.”
Kofi Nartey | The Real Brokerage
The virtual brokerage’s collaborative, supportive nature was a big attraction for Nartey, he said, as someone who is always “trying to contribute to my industry and elevate what we’re doing.” Real’s sweeping growth in recent years, both in terms of agent scope and tech developments, was also appealing for Nartey, as was the opportunity for him to partner with a company that will help facilitate his own team’s expansion into new markets in the near future.
One of Real’s most recent technological developments includes “Leo,” a concierge that uses GPT (a generative pre-trained transformer form of AI) to assist agents and brokers with the brokerage’s deal software. By the end of the first quarter of 2023, the brokerage had surpassed 10,000 agents, in a 120 percent year-over-year increase in agent count.
“Catching Real right now is like catching a wave,” Nartey told Inman. “I think it’s going to be a great one that’s heading in the direction our industry is heading, with a more virtual approach to everything, as well as additional revenue opportunities that I think our industry sorely needs.”
In addition, he noted that Real’s Co-Sponsored Revenue Share Program was just another perk that made Real an attractive new home for Globl RED, since through the program, two agents can equally share in the commission split of an agent they bring on to Real.
Nartey also said his new role as a national growth leader is “serendipitous,” given that it will naturally encompass many of the things he already enjoys about being a leader in the industry.
“It allows me to do a lot of what I’m doing anyway within the industry, which is drawing people to the industry, helping shepherd the growth of agents throughout their real estate careers, the training and teaching that I do, but be able to bring them into a platform and ecosystem that can aid in that progression of their development,” Nartey said.
“There’s a whole Real Academy that has trainings that I’ll be able to contribute to, which again, one of my goals is to leave the industry better than I found it. But the other benefit of teaching is, you always get to learn new things as well.”
Prior to launching his real estate career in 2002, Nartey gained first-hand experience in both professional sports and entertainment. As an undergraduate, Nartey was a UC Berkeley wide receiver who went on in 1998 to sign with the then-Oakland Raiders. [The Raiders moved to Las Vegas in 2020.] When his football career came to a close, he worked as an actor for about 10 years, making appearances in Modern Family and The Fast and the Furious, among other TV programs and films.
Once he made his career transition, Nartey rose the ranks in the real estate industry to eventually gain leadership positions at The Agency and Compass before founding Globl RED. Nartey’s clients have included A-list athletes, such as Michael Jordan and Kevin Durant.
Over the course of his career, Nartey has closed over $1 billion in sales volume and has received a number of industry recognitions, including being named three times to L.A. Business Journal’s annual L.A. 500, “Top Hollywood Agent” by the Hollywood Reporter, “Showbiz Real Estate Elite” by Variety Magazine and a “Power Player” by L.A. Confidential. He has also appeared on HGTV’s Selling L.A. and Bravo’s Million Dollar Listing.
Additionally, Nartey has used the wealth of experience he’s acquired over the last few years to build a consultancy relationship with the National Football League, where he advises players on real estate and post-football careers. Nartey also serves as an instructor for the Institute for Luxury Home Marketing.
Nartey will also appear at Inman Luxury Connect on Aug. 7-8 in Las Vegas.
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